In Wednesday's general sheep sale at Roscommon Mart, just shy of 1,000 sheep went under the hammer, with nearly a full clearance across the board.

Increased demand was seen across a number of categories and there were more buyers for store lambs in this week's sale.

Heavy cull ewes stole the trade as a number of ewes crossed the €250/head mark. These were well-fleshed and weighing from 95kg upwards, with between €2.60/kg and €2.90/kg paid. Well-fleshed lighter ewes weighing from 80kg upwards sold between €2.40/kg and €2.70/kg, with most of these crossing the €200/head mark. The trade for lighter ewes weighing under 80kg depended on age and flesh cover, with anywhere from €1.50/kg up to €2.30/kg paid.

ADVERTISEMENT

Heavy factory-ready lambs sold at top prices of €200/head, with most lambs weighing over 50kg selling from €190/head upwards. Lambs weighing from 47kg to 50kg sold for between €175/head and €185/head and generally around €3.60/kg was paid. Well-marked ewe-lambs weighing over 40kg had plenty of buyers, with just shy of €4/kg paid in cases of quality lots.

With a surge in grass growth, a number of store lamb buyers were in attendance this week. Lambs were up from €5 to €10/head in cases. Quality Texel and Charollais-cross lambs were favoured as top lots achieved from €3.80/kg to €3.90/kg. Lighter lambs weighing under 35kg sold from €3.50/kg to €4.26/kg, with quality lots making around the €4/kg mark.

In Pictures

These 12 Charollais-cross lambs weighing 55kg sold for €198 (€3.60/kg).

These 11 Charollais and Texel-cross lambs weighing 54.3kg sold for €198 (€3.65/kg).

These eight Suffolk-cross organic ewe lambs weighing 56.5kg sold for €197 (€3.49/kg).

These nine Siffolk-cross ewe-lambs weighing 58.8kg sold for €195 (€3.32/kg).

These four ram lambs weighing 51.5kg sold for €183 (€3.55/kg).

These eight Charollais-cross lambs weighing 44.2kg sold for €162 (€3.67/kg).

These seven Charollais-cross lambs weighing 43.4kg sold for €162 (€3.73/kg).

These seven Texel-cross lambs weighing 42.5kg sold for €160 (€3.78/kg).

These 16 mixed Charollais and Texel-cross lambs weighing 37.6kg sold for €147 (€3.91/kg).

These 17 Suffolk-cross ewe-lambs weighing 36.8kg sold for €145 (€3.94/kg).

These 21 Charollais-cross store lambs weighing 36.2kg sold for €140 (€3.87/kg).

These two well fleshed cull ewes weighing 112.5kg sold for €290 (€2.58/kg).

These nine well-fleshed cull ewes weighing 95kg sold for €262 (€2.85/kg).

These two Suffolk-cross cull-ewes weighing 95kg sold for €260 (€2.74/kg)

These four Suffolk-cross cull ewes weighing 83kg sold for €200 (€2.41/kg).

These 11 store ewes weighing 70kg sold for €158 (€2.23/kg).