Tuesday evening’s sheep sale at Ballymote Mart saw a sizable entry of 600 head on offer. While numbers are high, mart manager Stephen Hannon said that the previous week’s sale was actually bigger, with more than 700 head on offer.

At the top of the trade, prices hit a high of almost €130/head for heavy butchers’ lambs. Other heavy lambs sold from €126 to €127/head, with the top price of €80 along with the weight being paid at the top of the market.

Lambs from 48kg to 50kg sold mainly from €122 to €128 per head or from €74 to €80 over the weight.

Lamb conformation and the level of flesh were the main drivers of prices, with factory agents extremely active for all good-quality types.

It was the strong competition between agents that kept prices high. However, under-fleshed and lighter lambs were not met with as strong a trade. Lambs from 45kg to 48kg sold mainly from €113 to €126 or from €68 over to €79 along with the weight. Those from 42kg to 44kg sold from €107/head to €115/head or from €65 to €72 along with the weight.

Light lambs carrying flesh from 40kg to 42kg were a good trade also and sold mainly from €95 to €110/head, while lighter store lambs made from €80 to €90/head.