On Thursday last (September 24) the clearance sale of Michael Doyle’s 200-ewe flock took place at Carnew Mart.
The Wexford-based farmer, along with his son, Micheal, are going down the route of milking cows, so the decision was made to sell the flock of predominantly Suffolk-cross Belclare ewes.
Also Read: Clearance sale of 200 'genuine' ewes this Thursday, as farm makes way for dairyThe clearance sale, which took place alongside the mart’s weekly sheep sale, recorded a full clearance.
Speaking to AgriLand after the sale, Michael said: “It was an excellent sale, with all the ewes finding a new home.
“The hoggets topped out at €220/head and averaged €214. The two-year-old ewes made up to €205/head and averaged out at €198.
The three and four-year-old ewes sold up to €190/head and mainly made from €175/head up to €180/head. The overall average price across the sale was €189/head, which exceeded my expectations.
“Prices on the day, for all classes, ranged from €170/head up to €220/head. I was talking to David Quinn, the mart manager, after the sale and he said that farmers from Laois, Westmeath and Wicklow bought ewes.
“As far as I know, 30 ewes found a new home up in Mullingar, while a further 20 are now residing up in Stradbally.”