Baltinglass Mart in Co Wicklow has seen the entries of breeding sheep seasonally decline in recent weeks, but throughput of store lambs, finished lambs and cull ewes still remain strong.

Manager Joe Kinsella said last Saturday’s sale was the fifth-largest of the year, with hill sheep underpinning throughput later in the season.

Slaughter-fit lambs weighing 48kg to 52kg sold from €104 to €108 for average-quality types including Cheviot ram and wether lambs.

These nice-quality Suffolk-Cheviot-cross ewe lambs weighing 45kg sold for €126 (€2.80/kg).

Better-quality lots sold from €108 to €112 on average and a top of €114 for slaughter-fit lambs.

The trade for ewe lambs with breeding quality has quietened off, as has quality.

These Cheviot wether lambs weighing 40.9kg sold for €90 (€2.20/kg).

But there are still buyers willing to compete strongly for the right type of ewe lambs and this is reflected in nice-quality Suffolk-Cheviot-cross ewe lambs weighing 45kg selling for €126.

This mixed pen of Suffolk and crossbred ram lambs weighing 32.7kg sold for €77 (€2.36/kg).

Herdwick ewes

The standout sale in this regard was €142 paid for Herdwick ewe lambs weighing just 32.5kg.

Joe Kinsella said there were several buyers competing for the lambs which are rare in Ireland but relatively common in the Lake District in northwest England from where they originate.

Short-keep store lambs weighing upwards of 40kg sold from €2.05/kg for plainer-quality ram lambs to €2.20/kg to €2.30/kg for well-presented lambs with a good cover of flesh and requiring a short finishing period.

This batch of mainly Suffolk-Cheviot-cross wether lambs weighing 37.5kg sold for €86 (€2.29/kg).

Quality also had a big influence in the trade for lighter store lambs. Well-presented lambs again generated the strongest competition, with prices ranging from €2.20/kg to €2.30/kg on average.

Lesser-quality lots sold from €2.10/kg to €2.15/kg, with only small numbers of poorer-quality lambs below this range.

These two Herdwick ewe lambs weighing 32.5kg sold for €142 (€4.37/kg).

The trade for cull ewes has been steady in recent weeks, with firm demand for slaughter-fit and feeding ewes.

Medium-sized ewes weighing 65kg to 70kg sold from €70 to €80 on average, while larger-framed feeding and slaughter-fit ewes with an average cover of flesh sold from €85 to €100.

This pen of mixed-quality store lambs weighing 36.1kg sold for €74 (€2.05/kg).

There is more confidence among sheep farmers this year and this has been reflected in breeding sales.

There was only a small entry at last Saturday’s sale and Joe expects numbers on offer to be low from here on.

These three Texel-cross ram lambs weighing 55kg sold for €114 (€2.07/kg).

Of those that were on offer, good-quality third- and fourth-crop ewes sold from €110 to €130.

Other lots

These large-framed Cheviot ram lambs weighing 50.9kg sold for €106 (€2.08/kg).

These cull ewes weighing 72.5kg sold for €87 (€1.20/kg).

This pen of Cheviot cull ewes weighing 71.3kg sold for €79 (€1.11/kg).

These medium-sized cull ewes weighing 64.4kg sold for €76 (€1.18/kg).

These Texel- and Cheviot-cross ewes weighing 66.7kg sold for €77 (€1.15/kg).

These five medium-sized but fleshed cull ewes weighing 67kg sold for €81 (€1.21/kg).

These lambs weighing 42.3kg and possessing a good cover of flesh sold for €93 (€2.20/kg).

These crossbred ewe lambs weighing 39.5kg sold for €93 (€2.35/kg).

These three speckle-faced crossbred ewe lambs weighing 45kg sold for €108 (€2.25/kg).

These three speckle-faced crossbred ewe lambs weighing 45kg sold for €108 (€2.25/kg).

These two Cheviot ram lambs weighing 47.5kg sold for €103 (€2.17/kg).