Camera at the Mart: store lamb trade sizzles in Milltown

Store lambs were a flying trade in Milltown on Tuesday last at the weekly sheep sale in Mid-Kerry Co-op Mart.

They made up the vast majority of what was on offer at a sale that came within a whisker of having a full clearance.

Lowland and good cross-bred lambs close to or over 30kg were especially in demand.

As a rule of thumb, €90 to €100 with their weight was the going rate for most of these. That translates into roughly 20c/kg either side €4/kg.

There was a shade more to be got for good lots of lowland lambs, while select lots of ewe lambs hit a different level entirely, with up to €5.45/kg the top price there.

Some lambs off the hill weren’t too far behind, with a good share making between €3.50/kg and €3.80/kg.

Prices for lighter lambs closer to 25kg generally tracked along similar lines on a price-per-kilo basis.

Grass growth

A much higher than usual store cattle price is having a positive impact on the lamb trade in the area. Following a summer of excellent grass growth, farmers are on the lookout out for stock to graze it and sheep are an option.

Speaking after the sale, mart manager Linda Daly said: “We had a huge yard of sheep this week and they came from Cork and Limerick, as well as the local lambs.

“Lighter store lambs weighing from 20kg to 30kg were highly sought after by both online and ringside buyers.

“All types of lambs were a roaring trade and it’s fantastic to see such great prices here.

“We’ve had a huge rise in online buyers recently and we’re seeing a lot more people move towards buying lambs instead of cattle, as cattle prices have got very high.

“It’s increased our number of buyers. This is helping to drive up lamb prices and we’d be hoping to see some record prices in the lambs as the weeks go by now because of that.”

It’s not just the lambs trade that seems to be getting a bounce at the moment. Breeding sales have got off to a good start in Milltown too.

“We saw very good demand last week and a smashing bunch of Milford ewe lambs made up to €5.51/kg and we had Scotch ewe lambs making up to €5/kg.

“The top prices for our hogget ewes are making from €275/head to €300/head. It’s great.

“We’re heading into a busy sheep season now, as we’re running breeding sales on Thursday evenings and this Friday evening (29 August) the southwest Texel breeders ram sale is on.”