The sheep trade continues to remain steady across all sheep categories, with some downward pressure appearing in the store trade in parts of the country affected by drought and lack of grass.
The general trade for quality lambs weighing from 50kg to 55kg is from €200/head to €225/head.
Lesser-quality lambs and lambs in areas affected by drought that are not getting supplemented with concentrates and with poor flesh cover as a result are being picked up by factories for between €195 and €210/head.
Lambs weighing from 48kg to 50kg remain a steady trade, with these selling from €190 to top lots crossing €200/head, while lambs weighing between 45kg and 47kg trail behind by €10/head, selling from €180/head upwards.
As you go down the weights, the price gap has a big variance depending on quality and flesh cover.
Well-fed lambs weighing from 43kg to 45kg sold to €170/head, with lesser-quality lambs lacking flesh selling back from €140/head upwards.
The store trade has kicked on across the country, with many marts reporting a big increase in numbers presented.
Trade remains steady, with over €4/kg paid for quality lots, with the general run selling from €3.50/kg to €3.70/kg. Parts of the country with low grass supply are reporting an ease in the store trade, with farmers opting to wait out for rain.
Cull ewes are the talk of the trade, with demand remaining strong for heavy well-fleshed cull ewes weighing over 100kg, with these ewes crossing €300/head in several marts around the country.
Agents are paying from €2.70/kg to €2.90/kg for these top lots, with the bulk of ewes being purchased from €2.10/kg to €2.50/kg. With no real burst of cull ewes appearing, that could change as farms in the south and east become under pressure for grass and decide to offload culls.
Hoggets are increasing in numbers every week, with some farmers now holding out for the special sales kicking off from the first week of August onwards.
Top-quality hoggets continue to fetch a premium, selling from €300 to €330/head.
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