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Breeding sheep sales are now under way, with strong prices being paid for quality lots.
Ballymena sold just over 2,500 sheep on Saturday, with exceptional interest among buyers leading to a 100% clearance rate.
Hoggets sold to an average price of £157, an increase of £10 on last year. Ewe lambs averaged £97, up £5 on 2018 prices.
Prices peaked at £260 for Suffolk Cheviot hoggets, while ewe lambs were sold to a top of £170.
Alexander
Elsewhere, a special on-farm sale held by James Alexander of Randalstown last Thursday saw prices peak at £295 for Suffolk Cheviot hoggets, with 21 pens selling over the £200 mark.
Suffolk Cheviot-cross hoggets sold to an average of £207/head, with Cheviot Mule-cross hoggets selling to an average of £206/head. Draft ewes sold to an average of £146.50, while Suffolk rams sold from £420 to £820.
Limavady
In Limavady on Tuesday, the first breeding sheep sale saw a top price of £160 paid for a pen of Mule hoggets. Suffolk-cross hoggets sold to £151, with several lots making £140 to £154/head. In Gortin Mart, breeding hoggets sold from £125 to £140/head.
Scotland
Thainstone Mart in Aberdeenshire held its first sale of breeding sheep, with hoggets selling to £200 for a pen of Texel-bred animals. Charolais-cross animals sold to £150, with Suffolk-cross animals making £155 and Cheviot Mule hoggets making £140/head.
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