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The average price paid for breeding hoggets came to £150/head at the annual show and sale of Mule and Greyface sheep in Ballymena Mart on Saturday.
Overall, 2,496 hoggets were sold, with the average price down only £1/head compared with the same sale last year.
The highest-priced hoggets were a pen of Mules exhibited by C. McKernan, which came second place in the pre-sale show and later sold for £220/head. The first prize winning Mules were exhibited by S. Wilson from Deerfin and later sold for £205/head.
In the far ring, ewe lambs averaged £117/head, up £17/head from last year’s sale. The top price was £230/head paid for a pen of Suffolk Cheviot ewe lambs exhibited by J. McAuley from Bushmills.
In the ewe lamb show, R. Workman from Larne took first prize with a pen that later sold for £190/head.
Entity and AltaCabot top £PLI genomic rankings
The latest bull run published by AHDB this week has two bulls tied in top position on the Profitable Lifetime Index (£PLI) rankings for genomic Holstein sires in the UK.
Denovo 8084 Entity moved up from sixth place in the April 2019 listing to the top spot with a £PLI of £871. The Triplecrown JW Matters son has a high Predicted Transmitting Ability (PTA) for fat of 48.4kg.
Sitting on the same £PLI is Bomaz AltaCabot, the Bomaz AltaTopshot son, who also transmits high fat (44.7kg) and has good maternal calving ease (+2.1).
Among proven Holstein sires, VH Balisto Brook moved into top spot with a £PLI of £794. Brook also topped the Autumn Calving Index rankings, which includes bulls from across all dairy breeds.
In the Spring Calving Index (£SCI), British Friesian bull Catlane Caleb was in number one position with an £SCI of £482.
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