Fat lambs sell to £186 in Kilrea Mart

A single Texel lamb with 33kg half weight topped the trade in Kilrea Livestock Mart on Monday by selling for £186.

Examples of other top-end prices include three lambs that weighed 29.5kg and made £180, and a single 26.5kg lamb sold for £170.

One of the highest-priced pens at the sale was a batch of 10 lambs that weighed 27.5kg and made £167.50.

There were a few entries of purebred lambs which must not have made the cut for breeding or showing.

An example is a pair of Suffolks that weighed 30kg and made £162.

Overall, the trade was cooler at this week’s sale, with only a limited number of lots passing the £150 mark.

The trend has been seen at other local marts in recent days and reflects downward price pressure coming from factory agents. In Kilrea on Monday, heavy lambs at 24kg were typically making around £148, with the run of 23kg lots selling for around £145.

Mid-weight lambs were selling for closer to the £130 mark. Example prices include a pen of 16 lambs at 21.5kg that sold for £133 and a dozen lambs at 21kg, that made £131.50.

There was a small entry of lighter lambs on the day, with prices moving back accordingly. This includes a pen of 24 lambs at 19.5kg which sold for £122 and a dozen lambs at 18.5kg sold for £120.

A few pens of light stores were offered up, including a dozen lambs that weighed 17kg and made £110.50, and the same number lambs at 15.5kg sold for £105.