The keenest demand exhibited in Tuam Mart’s weekly sheep sale on Tuesday evening was for ewes with lambs at foot, ewe hoggets destined for breeding and cull ewes.

Prices for ewes with lambs at foot were dictated by the quality of the unit and age of ewe.

Twin lamb lots ranging in age from second to fourth crop and with strong lambs at foot sold in the main from €370 to €410 per unit with lesser-quality lots back to €345, while a couple of lots of hill ewes and their lambs sold from €250 to €275.

Single lamb lots or batches with an average of a lamb and a half at foot sold from €290 to as high as €370 for young ewes.

Breeding potential

There was plenty of interest for ewe hoggets with breeding potential, with prices for heavier hoggets weighing from 55kg to 65kg ranging from €210 to a top of €228.

Manager Marian Devan commented that this has been a feature of the trade in recent weeks, with prices boosted by positive weather and a strong cull ewe trade boosting farmer purchasing power.

Wether and ewe hoggets for killing and weighing around the 50kg to 52kg mark sold from €192 to €200, while lighter lots weighing 47kg to 48kg sold anywhere from €168 to upwards of €185 per head.

Likewise, lighter types weighing 44kg to 46kg sold from €160 to €164.

Spring lambs

The trade for a small entry of spring lambs was unchanged. Good-quality lambs weighing 48kg to 50kg sold in the main from €193 to €200, with a top of €202 for a pair of 50kg lambs.

Lighter lambs weighing 44kg to 45kg sold on average from €180 to €185 per head, with numbers of such types small on the evening.

There was a good entry of cull ewes, with demand remaining buoyant for all types.

The general run of prices for fleshed ewes was in the region of €2.65/kg to €2.85/kg, with a selection of excellent-quality lots rising to and exceeding €3/kg.

There was less than 20 ewes below a price of €2.60/kg, with factory agents driving the trade for lighter ewes, while those purchasing top-quality ewes for niche market demand for high-quality carcases dictated the trade for heavy ewes.

Numbers of cull ewes has remained strong this year. Marian comments that the high levels of competition and prices trending above equivalent factory returns encouraged more farmers to market ewes live, which strengthened over time.

In pictures

Four ewes on left weighing 88.5kg sold for €254 (€2.87/kg). Four 75.5kg ewes on right sold for €176 (€2.60/kg).

Six ewes weighing 66kg sold for €179 (€2.71/kg). The 110kg Suffolk ram on left sold for €208 (1.89/kg).

These 14 ewes weighing 81.5kg sold for €235 (€2.88/kg).

Nine Suffolk-cross lambs on left weighing 48.3kg sold for €190 (€3.83/kg. Four 47kg lambs on right sold for €195 (€4.15/kg).

Three hoggets on left weighing 48kg sold for €168. Three hoggets on the right weighing 51kg sold for €194 (€3.80/kg).

Weighing an average of 65.5kg, these Texel-cross ewe hoggets sold for €228 each (€3.48/kg).

This fourth crop Texel ewe and two strong Suffolk-cross lambs at foot sold for €375.

Three Zwartbles-cross lambs on left weighing 48.6kg sold for €195 each (€4.01/kg). The three lambs on left weighing 54kg sold for €200 (€3.70/kg).

This pen of lambs weighing 48kg sold for €200 each (€4.17/kg).

Three second and third crop ewes with strong twin lambs at foot and one ewe with a single lamb sold for €410 per unit.

These 14 good-quality lambs weighing 42.7kg sold for €180 (€4.22/kg).

These two lambs weighing 50kg sold for €202 each.

This batch of Texel-cross ewe hoggets weighing 58kg sold for €218 (€3.76/kg).