The sheep mart trade has been largely steady this week, with some mart managers reporting a slightly stronger tone to demand for hoggets.

Prices are generally unchanged, with the lion’s share of slaughter-fit hoggets weighing in excess of 50kg selling within a range of €150 to €158.

There are select deals for top-quality butcher-type hoggets or heavier lots rising to €160 or higher in cases. Hoggets weighing 48kg to 50kg are typically falling within a similar range of €150 to €155, with agents remaining keen to balance carcase weight in batches.

Plainer-quality types are selling back to €90 with the weight

Good-quality short-keep lambs weighing 44kg to 46kg are also meeting a firm trade for fleshed types, with prices ranging from €2.90/kg to €3.15/kg or from €95 to €100 with the weight. Plainer-quality types are selling back to €90 with the weight.

There is still a significant number of light store lambs appearing and prices are heavily influenced by quality. Well-presented lambs with the potential to thrive on continue to trade within a range of €2.85/kg to €3.10/kg, while smaller-framed lambs lacking considerable flesh or showing signs of being stunted are selling back to €2.40/kg to €2.50/kg.

Ewes weighing 80kg to 85kg are trading anywhere from €120 to €150

The cull ewe trade has strengthened with a combination of a greater appetite from factory agents and relatively tight supplies inserting more competition into the trade.

Heavy fleshed ewes are typically selling from €140 to €170, but marts are also reporting select lots of large-framed ewes weighing in excess of 100kg selling to €175 to €180 per head.

Ewes weighing 80kg to 85kg are trading anywhere from €120 to €150, with well-bred continental ewes with a good conformation and kill-out potential sought after.

Scottish Blackface ewes remain at a price level of €1/kg for light carcase ewes (weighing 45kg to 50kg live) lacking flesh to €1.20/kg to €1.40/kg for larger-framed and heavier types.

In-lamb ewes

There has been an increase in the number of in-lamb ewes offered for sale in the last week.

The best trade is for special entries or clearance sales where there is higher confidence that ewes are not being sold for a reason.

Top price for flocks lambing in March and carrying 1.7 to two lambs are in the region of €180 to €200. There is very little interest for ewes offered without scanning data and accurate details on lambing date.