On Thursday evening, Cootehill Mart held its weekly sheep sale, where over 500 sheep were on offer. Trade remained steady but the store trade is seeing some price pressure on the back of poor grass growth over the last two weeks.
Finished lambs weighing between 40kg and 50kg sold at an average of €3.83/kg, with top lots selling up to €4.20/kg. Well-fed lambs fit for slaughter sold around the €4/kg mark.
Lambs weighing between 30kg and 40kg sold to a top price of €4.03/kg, with all lambs averaging €3.65/kg. Many of the lambs on offer sold for around the €150/head mark, making from €3.80/kg up to €4.00/kg.
The lighter store lamb trade saw some pressure this week as low grass supplies around the country meant farmers were slow to purchase. The lightest lambs, weighing under 30kg, sold at an average of €3.47/kg, with top lots making up to €3.59/kg.
The cull ewe trade remains steady and didn’t see much of a drop on the previous week. Demand was still strong for heavy, well-fed cull ewes. The best of the cull ewes were still making over €2.60/kg, with some fetching up to €3/kg. More store-type ewes weighing less 70kg were selling from €2.00/kg up to €2.50/kg, depending on quality and flesh.
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