Last Tuesday’s sale at Mayo-Sligo Mart, Ballina, saw an entry of 2,200 sheep on offer. Of these, there were about 1,600 lambs, of which about 250 to 300 were factory lambs, with the remainder stores.

Mart manger Billy Loftus said that the store lamb trade has been very strong and numbers have increased quickly in the past few weeks.

Billy added that the mart is not at peak sheep throughput yet, with numbers set to hit over 3,300 in the coming weeks.

In terms of demand, the strongest demand was for good-quality stores. A dry summer up to the past two weeks has meant that farmers have good grass supply, which is driving demand for store lambs.

The main demand is from local farmers, but Billy said that there has been increased demand from midlands and southern buyers in the past few weeks also.

In terms of prices, store lambs have started very strong, with prices a shade higher than the same time last year. At the top of the market, good-quality heavy store lambs are making up to €85/head, while the majority of stores are making from €65 to €78/head.

Billy said that because it is early, the number of store hill lambs is small, but he expects these to increase in the coming weeks. Crossbred hill lambs are making from €50 to €60/head.