Station Road Mart in Cootehill, Co Cavan, recorded a flying trade for a clearance sale of early lambing ewes on Tuesday night.

The ewes were a mixture of mainly well-bred Suffolk- and Texel-cross ewes in excellent condition and showing signs of being well advanced in gestation with a lambing date of mid-January.

Ewes were presented in batches on five on type and aged from hoggets to third crop, with batches carrying 1.75 to two lambs on average. Prices ranged from €210 to €250 on average, with one batch of young ewes carrying over two lambs hitting €290.

There was also ewes presented on the night from another flock, but these had a later lambing date from February onwards, with ewes carrying a lower lamb crop. Prices here ranged on average from €165 to €190 per head.

The trade for slaughter-fit lambs has steadied at a strong level, while light and plainer-quality store lambs have eased in price by anywhere from €3 to €7 per head. Fleshed lambs weighing 50kg to 54kg continue to range on average from €123 to €128, with a selection of the best-quality butcher-type lambs selling to €130 to €133. Lambs lacking flesh are selling back to €116 to €119 for the same weight.

Lowland lambs weighing 47kg to 49kg are averaging in the region of €114 to €124, while short-keep lots weighing 43kg to 44kg sold on average from €103 to €108. The quality of store lambs has reduced, while buyer appetite has also dropped, which often happens for the final weeks pre-Christmas.

There is a big range reported by mart managers, with some continuing to report quality lowland stores weighing 38kg to 40kg selling from €90 to the low €100s, while others report a range of €88 to €97.

The cull ewe trade is solid, with a high percentage of large-framed fleshed ewes selling from €105 to €120 on average, with select lots rising to €130. Medium-sized ewes remain at a price range of €90 to €105, with crossbred lots from €75 upwards for lighter carcase ewes to €85 to €90 for well-fleshed ewes capable of killing in the region of 33kg to 36kg carcase weight. Scotch ewes range from €50 to €65 in the main.