It’s been a fairly stagnant week again with regard to mart prices and numbers – no great rise or fall has been seen in either.

However, reports from mart managers have indicated that factory agents have been more prevalent around the rings this week and while they remain coy in their buying, quality fleshed lambs with good kill-out potential are being well rewarded.

Good-quality well-finished lambs weighing from 49kg to 53kg have seen a lift of €3 to €5/head, selling close to €175/head in many sales, with prices starting at €175 for some plainer-quality types and rising to €180 where interest is present from butcher or wholesale buyers.

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Some marts again this week saw top prices in the low €190s paid for top-end lambs in the 53kg to 55kg bracket, though rams lambs of this weight have been less desirable and have been in the low €180s to high €170s in general.

Prices for lighter factory lambs weighing 45kg to 48kg are anywhere from the low €150s for poorly fleshed lots or those with hill genetics to upwards of €170 for top-quality lots with good slaughter potential.

Fleshing is having a serious input on price of both these factory types and finished lots.

Store lambs

The store lamb trade is steady, with a high percentage of lambs weighing from 35kg to 44kg from €3.50/kg to €3.75/kg or, in simple terms, €100 to €110/head with their weight.

While the fine weather may have resulted in lower buyer demand in other years, high cattle prices continue to edge buyers towards the sheep rings rather than the weanling rings.

Select lots, including ewe lambs with breeding potential as hoggets, are rising to €4/kg and higher. Those these types are becoming notably scarcer.

The cull ewe trade is holding relatively firm. Keen demand for feeding ewes is helping to keep a floor under the trade, with good-quality feeding ewes selling from €1.70/kg to €2.10/kg, while fleshed lowland ewes are selling in the main from €1.90/kg to €2.30/kg.

This reduces to €1.20/kg to €1.60/kg for hill ewes and back to €1/kg for light ewes lacking significant flesh cover.