Hoggets at €360 in Tullow

Tullow Mart’s first breeding ewe sale of the 2026 season got off to a strong start with hoggets averaging at just over €300 per head.

Mart manager Eric Driver said that there was keen demand from early lamb producers seeking strong hoggets that will be fit to join with rams in such a production system.

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Competition was high for such lots, with a number of lots of good-quality Suffolk hoggets selling from €320 to a top price of €360 per head, while lighter lots sold back to €300.

It was a similar story for breeding ewes. The pick of these were quality two-and-a-half and three-and-a-half-year-old Suffolk ewes which sold for €280 and €300 per head, while some mixed batches of lighter and aged ewes sold back to €200 to €220.

A strong cull ewe trade means that any older ewes with weight and flesh on their side will not be bought cheap.

There was a sharper tone to the lamb trade, with heavier lambs in tight supply.

Prices for lambs weighing 50kg to 53kg ranged from €205 to €215 on average, while lighter lots weighing 44kg to 46kg sold from the low €180s to mid-to-high-€190s for well-fleshed lots.

Store lambs weighing in the region of 35kg to 37kg sold in the main in the €130 to €140 price range.

Store lambs boost Dowra

Last Friday’s sale entry in Dowra Mart in Co Cavan was boosted by an increase in store lamb entries.

Mart manager Terry McGovern said there was some good-quality forward stores in last week’s sale, with keen competition pushing prices above the €3.75/kg mark, with the best-quality lambs weighing 40kg to 42kg topping the €150/head mark.

Lighter well-presented lambs weighing around 38kg sold in the low- to mid-€140s, while lambs weighing 35kg to 36kg sold in the mid-€130 range, or from €3.50/kg to €3.70/kg.

There was also a sharper tone to the trade for factory lambs.

Lambs weighing upwards of 50kg sold from €195 to €205/head for ram lambs including crossbred types.

Lambs weighing 47kg to 48kg sold in general from €180 to €190, depending on flesh cover, while those weighing 43kg to 44kg sold from €170 to €178 on average.

Numbers of store lambs are expected to continue to climb, with a few large lots including 150 head from one producer entered for this week’s sale.

Elphin cattle boost

Elphin Mart manager Ciaran Lynch reported: “We’re seeing an improved trade in the last two weeks for heavy beef cattle. The cows have held steady all year and there’s great bite for them at the moment.

“There was confusion around who can buy what back in April when the new TB rules came in. It’s fairly straightened out now I have noticed more cows landing into the mart inside a 30-day test.

“We’re seeing no difference in trade for those forward continental CFU-only cows. I’m waiting on clarity around Northern buyers being able purchase those cattle, but they’re very active for the cows inside a six-month test.

“The weanling market remains steady. We have a few big sales to kick off from the August bank holiday, with the shippers keen for those bulls 350kg to 420kg.”