Raphoe Mart held another large sale of sheep on Monday, with almost 800 animals put through the ring.

This was the second week the mart ran its sheep sale 100% online and the sale went off trouble-free.

“Farmers are getting more used to the system, but still aren’t happy about not being able to see the sheep in front of them when they are buying them," according to mart manager Anne Harkin.

"It’s wild hard for a buyer to remember 800 sheep walking through them during the viewing time on the morning of a sale.

"I thought we would have got some concessions with cases coming down, but the Government haven’t listened to us.

"It's great to see the trade holding up so well given everything farmers have had to deal with," she said.

Good trade for factory-fit lambs

Trade was sharp for good-quality lambs, with plenty of customers for factory-fit lambs. Heavy butchers' lambs were in particular demand, with a number of lots over 50kg making between €115 and €120/head.

Ewe lambs destined for breeding were also attracting a premium, with as high as €120/head paid for top-quality ewe lambs.

Lighter finished lambs suitable for the factory trade around 45kg were making from €105 to €110/head.

Store lambs in the 35kg to 41kg bracket were making €90 to €100/head, while lambs in the 30kg to 34kg bracket were making €80 to €90/head.

Fat ewes were a similar trade to last week, with good-quality heavy ewes making as high as €120/head, while lesser-quality ewes requiring feeding making between €60 to €80/head.