Sheep mart prices: more life for lambs in some sales

There is some variability reported in mart sales this week. Marts with tight availability of slaughter-fit lambs and a more active butcher or wholesale buyer trade witnessed increased competition and prices rebounding in cases by €3 to €6 per head.

In such sales, the best-quality lambs weighing upwards of 50kg trended above the €200 /head mark, selling from €205 to €215 and rising in isolated cases to over €200 per head.

In sales reliant on factory agent buyers, top prices were curtailed to in the region of €200/head, with small numbers of excellent-quality lots from €200 to €205/head.

Lighter lambs weighing 47kg to 49kg sold in the main from €190 to €200, with the best-quality lots rising above €200/head.

Potential slaughter performance dictated the trade for lambs weighing 45kg to 46kg, with prices ranging anywhere from the mid-€170s to as high as €190/head for young well-fleshed lots.

Lambs weighing 40kg to 42kg sold from as low as €150 for lambs lacking significant flesh cover to upwards of €170 for fleshed lots.

Demand for store lambs appears to be starting the season in a solid manner. Manorhamilton Mart in Co Leitrim recorded a flying trade for a large entry of lambs on Wednesday 24 June, with prices averaging in excess of €4/kg and rising to as high as €4.50/kg (see www.farmersjournal.ie).

Other sales saw prices averaging in the region of €4/kg for well-presented lowland lambs in the low-30kg weight range. Crossbred and hill lambs are trading anywhere from €3.35/kg to €3.70/kg.

The cull ewe trade is firm, with fleshed ewes keenly sought after. A price range of €2.20/kg to €2.45/kg liveweight is buying a significant percentage of ewes weighing from 80kg to 95kg. Prices for small numbers of ewes capable of delivering highly conformed carcases are rising in cases to €2.70/kg to €2.80/kg.

Mart managers report that farmers are batching ewes better on weight and type and are getting rewarded for doing so. Scottish Blackface ewes are selling from €1.50/kg to €2/kg with boner types falling back to €1/kg.