Last Thursday saw the first sheep sale of 2020 take place at Loughrea Mart. Mart manager James Cooney said that, as it was the first sale, numbers were not very big. He added that, generally, farmers will wait and see what the trade is like in the first sale before bringing lambs out.

This pen of lambs weighing 43.3kg on average sold for €105 each (€2.42/kg).

In terms of the trade, it was much improved on December, with all factory agents and butchers very active for all lambs. The most improved trade was for lambs from 46kg to 48kg. Jimmy said that these were met with the biggest lift in prices when compared with the trade before the Christmas break.

This pen of lambs weighing 53.3kg on average sold for €121 (€2.27/kg).

On Thursday last, they were selling from €95 to €110/head and Jimmy said that factory agents were not going to leave any lambs behind them. Heavy butchers’ lambs from 52kg to 54kg were met with increased demand and prices also. These sold mainly from €110 to €124/head.

Cull ewes were an improved trade also.

This pen of lambs weighing 46.3kg on average sold for €110 each (€2.38/kg).

Again, numbers were small, with about 150 on offer. These sold from €100 to €120 for good-quality ewes. This marks an improvement of €10 to €20/head on the prices paid in December. Jimmy said that the price rise will entice more lambs out in the coming weeks and will give a good return for those who bought stores in the autumn. Commission rates are €1/head to the buyer and a percentage to the seller.

This pen of lambs weighing 55kg on average sold for €124 each (€2.25/kg).

This pen of heavy lambs weighing 55.6kg on average sold for €124 each (€2.23/kg).