In pictures: northeast Texel sale sees hoggets hit €6,400 in Carnaross

The North Eastern Texel Club held its 10th anniversary sale in Carnaross Mart in Co Meath on Monday last.

The event is always one of the highlights in the Texel sheep calendar, with a large crowd of buyers and spectators attending Monday evening’s sale.

Just short of 60 pedigree Texel sheep were sold on the night, with an almost 100% clearance rate.

Top call of the night went to John and James Dunne’s Hilltop Golden Eye-sired hogget. She was scanned in-lamb with two lambs to Largy I Show Speed and was knocked down for the top price of €6,400.

Meath men Pat and Barry Farrell had a pen of 12 hoggets entered in the sale on the night and their Hilltop Golden Eye-sired hogget scanned in-lamb to Largy I Show Speed sold for €6,250, the second-highest price of the night.

They also took home the third-highest price of the night with another full sister, a Hilltop Golden Eye-sired hogget going back to their Garngour ewe. She was scanned in-lamb with one lamb selling for €5,600.

Pen average

It was back to the Dunne’s Kilduff pen for the next-highest price of the night, with another Hilltop Golden Eye-sired daughter.

She was scanned in-lamb with one lamb to Largy I Show Speed and sold for €5,200.

The Dunnes had 12 hoggets in the sale, with their sheep selling from €2,000 to €6,400 with their pen average coming in at €3,100/hogget.

Next-highest price also came from the Farrell pen for yet another Hilltop Golden Eye daughter out of the same Garngour ewe.

She came to the ring scanned in-lamb with two lambs to the €32,000 Largy I Show Speed coupled with a five-star replacement index and sold for €3,500.

The Farrells also had an impressive pen average of €2,770 with all 12 finding new homes on the night.

The club has always had a charity element to the sale each year and this year a ewe lamb was sold from Cavan breeders Michael and John Donohoe's Crosserlough flock.

She was knocked down at €1,600 with the full sale proceeds being donated to Virginia cancer care.

For the full sale report and more photos, pick up a copy of next week’s Irish Farmers Journal.