Power is falling back into sellers’ hands, with factories becoming keener for tightening lamb supplies. Farmers are being paid €5.05/kg to €5.10/kg, with some farmers negotiating €5.15/kg. Producer groups and frequent sellers were paid up to €5.20/kg for lambs including bonus payments this week.

The upswing in the trade is partly as a result of improved market conditions in continental Europe, where the trade has been variable this year. A reduced domestic kill last week also had some effect on price here.

Base quotes in the factories have not moved and range from €4.80/kg to €4.95/kg. Moyvalley Meats is paying an all-in quote of €5.00/kg.

The kill stood at 58,037 head last week, down 6,758 on the same period last year. It is likely to be low this week also, as farmers take advantage of the fine weather for field work.

Many farmers are commenting that kill-out has been poor over the past three to four weeks and liveweights are slow to increase. This has resulted in more farmers holding out longer than usual to kill lambs in an effort to improve carcase weight returns.

The slower marketing of lambs is in turn causing headaches for procurement managers who are trying to fill orders. The reduced kill-outs also means that factories need larger numbers to fill the consequential void. These factors are having a positive effect on price, but poor kill-out is an issue for farmers.

In the marts, the improved trade was very evident. Factory agents were keen for numbers and some marts reported prices strengthening by €1/head to €3/head.

Farmer demand for store lambs meant that factory agents were driven to pay higher prices for fleshed forward store lambs that could also suit direct slaughter.

IFA national sheep committee chair John Lynskey said there is more bite in the sheep trade this week, with factories increasing quotes by as much as 10c/kg and paying €5.10 to €5.20 tops to get lambs.

He said in some parts of the country, €5.00/kg is the general factory price, but, with farmers busy at silage and hay, agents are having to offer more to get lambs.

He said the mart trade is also buoyant, with both factories and store buyers very active.

Cull ewes

Factory base quotes for cull ewes range from €2.40/kg to €2.50/kg. ICM increased its base quote by 10c/kg compared with last week.

Including bonus payments, farmers are securing €2.60/kg to €2.80/kg.

Marts continue to be a good alternative marketplace for ewes, with fleshed ewes selling from €110/head to €120/head.

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Sheep Watch: store trade thriving