Suffolk Cheviot and Texel-cross hoggets and ewe lambs were a roaring trade at the first autumn sale of breeding sheep in Ballymena Mart on Saturday.

Approximately 3,650 head went under the hammer in one of the premier sheep breeding sales in Northern Ireland, with buyers competing hard, both ringside and online.

This pen of Suffolk Cheviot hoggets sold for £250 (€294).

With a clearance rate close on 100%, a total of 2,747 breeding hoggets sold to an average of £192 (€225), an increase of £13 (€15) on the previous year, despite an extra 700 extra animals being forwarded for sale on Saturday past.

This pen of Suffolk Cheviot hoggets sold for £255 (€300).

Topping the trade

Topping the trade was a single-entry Suffolk-Cheviot hogget, which saw the hammer drop at £310 (€365).

This pen of Suffolk Cheviot hoggets sold for £220 (€259).

Pens of breeding hoggets sold to a top price of £270 (€318) for Suffolk Cheviot animals, while Texel-cross hoggets hit £250 (€294).

Stand-out lots typically saw top-quality Suffolk Cheviots selling from £220 to £265 (€259 to €312), with Texel types generally making above the £200 (€235) mark.

Ewe lambs

There was also a superb entry of ewe lambs suitable for breeding this autumn, with 836 animals forwarded, an increase of 280 head on 2020.

This pen of Texel-cross hoggets sold for £200 (€235).

Prices averaged £120 (€141) across all lots, a small increase of £5/head on £115 (€135) recorded last year.

Leading the trade were Suffolk-cross ewe lambs which were highly sought after.

This pen of Suffolk Cheviot hoggets sold for £235 (€276).

Prices reached a peak of £200 (€235) for a pen of 12 Suffolk Cheviots, with a big run of top-quality lots also selling above the £150 (€176) mark.

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