Camera at the Mart attended the special sale of breeding sheep at Ballymena Mart on Saturday, the first of many breeding sales to be held at this venue over the coming weeks.

The sale is firmly established as one of the premier offerings of top-quality breeding hoggets and many farmers target the sale to showcase their best animals.

This pen of Texel hoggets sold for £178 per head.

Over 2,500 animals were forwarded for sale, with the main breed types on offer being Suffolk Cheviot hoggets.

Prior to the sale, a show of Suffolk Cheviot hoggets was judged by Raymond Poots. The prize for the champion sheep was awarded to Diane Gibson, Newtownabbey.

This pen of Suffolk hoggets sold for £140 per head.

These animals topped the sale, realising £260 per head. The same breeder also sold pens of hoggets at £210, £190, £185, £180 and £178 per head.

This pen of Suffolk Cheviot hoggets sold for £170 per head.

Commenting on the sale, mart manager Sam McNabney said there was excellent demand for top-quality hoggets, with farmers most competitive on well-developed animals with plenty of frame and power.

This pen of Texel Cheviot hoggets sold for £158.

He added that prices were up by £10 per head on last year, with the sale averaging £157 per head. Ewe lambs sold to an average of £97 per head, up £5 on the previous year.

This pen of Suffolk Cheviot hoggets sold for £170 per head.

Other prices

Following the top price of £260 was the reserve champion pen of Suffolk Cheviot hoggets. These animals made £220 per head.

Other stand-out lots sold saw a pen of Texel-cross hoggets making £210, with similar pens of sheep making £205 per head.

This pen of Suffolk Cheviot hoggets sold for £190 per head.

In total, seven pens sold over £200 per head, with a big run of sheep making £170 to £195 for Suffolk Cheviot-cross animals and the pick of the Mule hoggets on offer.

This pen of Mule hoggets sold for £172 per head.

Good-quality Mule hoggets typically sold from £150 to £172 per head, with plainer and smaller lots selling back to £130 per head.

A good entry of pure Suffolk hoggets were also met with firm bidding interest, with lots selling upwards from £130 and the pick of Suffolk animals making close to £170.

This pen of Suffolk Cheviot hoggets sold for £190 per head.

Ewe lambs sold to a top price of £170 for a pen of 11 Suffolk Cheviot animals followed by £155 for a pen of 12 lambs.

Texel-cross lambs sold to £137, with similar lots making £116 and pure Cheviot lambs making £114.

This pen of Mule hoggets sold for £175 per head.

This pen of Mule hoggets sold for £165 per head.

This pen of Mule hoggets sold for £162 per head.

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