Sheep breeding sales have kicked off in earnest, with many marts holding a special show and sale or special entries in the last week.

Prices are relatively positive considering the challenges present in grass supplies and pressure on lamb prices.

The best-quality hoggets are topping the €300/head mark for large-framed and well-bred sheep, with prices trending for such lots from €300 to €330/head and rising in cases to €350 to €370/head.

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Lighter-framed and plainer-quality hoggets are selling back to €260/head, while some smaller hoggets that will need significant feeding are selling back to €200 to €220/head.

Top-quality ewe lambs capable of going to the ram this year are selling from €190 to €240/head on average, with select lots much higher, while plainer-quality types are securing a small premium over equivalent-weight slaughter-fit or store sheep.

Live trade

Factory cuts continue to be felt in the live trade. Prices for heavier lambs weighing upwards of 50kg have eased back to €170 to €175/head for factory types, with some top-quality lots to upwards of €180/head.

Flesh cover is critical, with a differential of upwards of €15/head between lambs of a similar weight.

Lambs weighing 45kg are selling anywhere from €135 to €155, for example.

This is similar with stores. The general run of prices for lowland lambs is €3.25/kg to €3.55/kg, but lambs are selling as wide as from €3.10/kg to upwards of €3.70/kg with presentation critical.

Plainer-quality crossbred and hill lambs are selling back to €2.70/kg to €2.90/kg, with male lambs a more sluggish trade than hill ewe lambs with breeding potential.

The cull ewe trade is reported as easier in a number of sales, with prices easing by 10c/kg to 15c/kg-plus, in recent weeks.

Fleshed ewes are selling on average from €2.40/kg to €2.55/kg for quality types, while lesser-quality lots are selling back to €2.20/kg.

There is still a small number of ewes selling below €2/kg, with lighter hill ewes from €1.40/kg to €1.70/kg, upwards.