Mountbellew Mart’s sheep sale held on Saturday 25 July recorded an entry of 1,635 head. This included 1,301 lambs, 305 cull ewes and 21 breeding ewes.

The trade in Co Galway was underpinned by a continued strong farmer demand for store and ewe lambs, while factory agents were keen to source slaughter-fit lambs and cull ewes to satisfy increased factory demand for sheep at the start of this week.

The highlight of the sale was the level of interest in ewe lambs with breeding potential and good-quality store lambs. Nice-quality ewe lambs weighing 38kg to 44kg sold from €97 to €110, with a few lots of top-quality lots rising to €115. A handful of lambs weighing 47kg to 51kg sold from €125 to a top of €136 for a pen of Suffolk ewe lambs weighing 48.7kg.

There was a large entry of lowland store lambs weighing in the region of 34kg to 40kg. Lambs weighing 34kg to 37kg sold on average from €80 to €88, while lots weighing 38kg to 40kg ranged on average from €85 to €94. Lambs weighing from 30kg to 32kg sold from €68 to €78 on average.

Finished lambs

The number of slaughter-fit lambs on offer was relatively low and this inserted extra competition into the trade, with factories looking to source numbers for the Islamic festival of Eid al-Adha. The top prices in this regard were €112 and €113 paid for fleshed ram lambs weighing 50kg. Agents were willing to drop down in the weights to secure numbers, with fleshed lambs weighing 40kg to 44kg selling from €97 to €108 on average.

Factory trade

Meanwhile, factory appetite held strong over the weekend, with some factories slaughtering and almost all working to get product in transit. Factories are continuing to operate at high capacity on Monday and Tuesday, with demand expected to slip back thereafter.

Prices reported over the weekend range from €5.40/kg to €5.50/kg. Farmers with greater negotiating power secured the higher prices, while regular sellers and those trading through producer groups secured anywhere from 5c/kg to 15c/kg for Monday by means of producer group bonuses and allowances on transport.