Sheep mart comment: store trade setting the headlines

Demand for store lambs continues to outstrip supply, with the best-quality stores topping a price of €4/kg in some sales over the last week.

Martin Merrick

27 November 2024

Sheep mart comment: store trade setting the headlines

This pen of seven ram lambs weighing 51kg sold for €186/head (€3.65/kg) in Ballymote Mart on Tuesday night.

A significant number of mart managers are reporting that demand continues to outstrip supply of good-quality store lambs, with upwards of €4/kg being paid on occasion. In general, good-quality store lambs of lowland breeding are trading between €3.60/kg and €4/kg, with the upper end being paid for clean, well-presented and even lambs with a good covering of flesh.

A significant number of mart managers are reporting that demand continues to outstrip supply of good-quality store lambs, with upwards of €4/kg being paid on occasion.

In general, good-quality store lambs of lowland breeding are trading between €3.60/kg and €4/kg, with the upper end being paid for clean, well-presented and even lambs with a good covering of flesh.

Lambs with hill breeding are trading below the €3.60/kg mark, though ram lambs with good frames ready for pushing on with intensive feeding are reaching close to prices of lowland lambs at around €3.45/kg to €3.55/kg.

Finished lambs are continuing to be presented at mart gates as opposed to factories, with a premium being paid for good-quality lambs fit to hit full kill-out potential.

Exporters and factory agents have been witnessed competing heavily for finished lambs, with the general price being €3.50/kg to €3.70/kg.

Ballymote Mart manager David Faughnan noted this week: “Meal-fed lambs with flesh on them are being very much sought after, with flesh cover the major price dictator.”

Agents are active for lambs from 46kg upwards once flesh is present. Lambs in the 49kg to 52kg bracket are trading between €3.55/kg and €3.75/kg or €174 to €188/head, though lambs in the 46kg to 48kg bracket also traded similarly for top-quality lots.

Lambs weighing between 51kg and 55kg were eagerly sought after to reach full kill-out weights, with lambs selling between €3.43/kg and €3.55/kg.

Heavy lambs above this weight are achieving similar prices unless butcher activity is present, with a maximum of €190/head being paid by agents regardless of weight. This is putting lambs between 55kg and 58kg at €3.28/kg to €3.40/kg.

Numbers of cull ewes are waning slightly as the majority of culling from breeding flocks has been complete and scanning of empty ewes for drafting is yet to happen.

Well-fleshed cull ewes weighing in excess of 70kg are selling to a similar price per head to finished lambs at €170 to €200/head, with some exceptional ewes commanding above this.