Last Saturday’s sheep sale in Mountbellew Mart, Co Galway, was reflective of sales countrywide. Entries of store lambs have spiked in recent weeks, with firm farmer demand helping to keep a floor under the trade.

Short-keep lowland lambs weighing 38kg to 44kg sold from €80 to €88/head (€2.00/kg to €2.15/kg), with ewe lambs or lambs with a good cover of flesh attracting a €5 premium.

Lighter lowland stores weighing 30kg to 35kg were a higher price per kilo, selling from €70 to €80/head or from €2.20/kg all the way to €2.40/kg.

A few lots of light cross-bred horned lambs, estimated as weighing 25kg to 32kg, sold from €55 to €62/head.

Demand for a small entry of slaughter-fit lambs remained firm, with supplies tight in the wake of farmers targeting sales for the Eid al-Adha festival. Lambs weighing 47kg to 50kg sold in general from €95 for those lighter-fleshed to €102 for better-fleshed lambs.

Heavier ewe lambs suitable for breeding attracted a €6 to €10 premium, with the top-priced pen on the day comprising great-quality 51kg Suffolk cross ewe lambs.

Breeding sales were variable, with price very much dependent on quality. Top-quality Suffolk and Suffolk cross hoggets sold from €170 to €180/head, with a number of lesser-quality lots selling back to €140/head. Lighter-framed Texel cross and crossbred hoggets sold from €130 to €150/head. Second- and third-crop ewes sold from €100 for average-quality ewes to €140 for large-framed ewes.

In the cull ring, large-framed, fleshed ewes sold in the main from €90 to €110, with a couple of lots selling to €120. Short-keep feeding ewes sold from €70 to €90/head, with those lacking flesh and slaughter-fit horned ewes selling from €50 to €65/head.