Mountbellew Mart's first sale of 2025 recorded a vibrant trade for cull ewes and strong trade for lambs.

The ewe trade was driven by a couple of agents exhibiting a strong appetite for quality fleshed ewes, with fleshed ewes of any weight in demand.

Prices for fleshed crossbred-type ewes ranged from €2.20/kg to €2.40/kg in the main, with good-quality lowland ewes typically selling from €2.30/kg to €2.60/kg, but hitting as high as €2.80/kg.

The top price of €250 was paid for a single ewe weighing 110kg.

Firm trade

There was also a firm trade for a handful of rams on offer, with Charollais rams weighing upwards of 100kg topping the €200 mark and selling to a top of €232.

The lamb trade was firm, with prices up €3 to €5 on the final sale in 2024. The majority of lambs on offer were factory-type lambs weighing from 48kg to 52kg, with prices averaging from €197 to €205/head.

There was keen demand for a handful of lots of top-quality heavier lambs weighing from 53kg to 55kg, with prices for these ranging from €210 to €215/head.

A few pens of store lambs weighing around the 38kg to 41kg mark ranged from €150 to €160/head.

In pictures

These top-quality well-fleshed lambs weighing 53kg sold for €215 each.

These four Suffolk-cross ewe lambs weighing 50.5kg sold for €205 each.

Weighing 38.5kg, this mixed batch of store lambs sold for €150 each (€3.90/kg).

Weighing 41.7kg, these Charollais-cross store lambs sold for €160 each (€3.84/kg).

These quality lambs weighing 50.2kg sold for €210 each (€2.18/kg).

These Scottish Blackface ram lambs weighing 30kg sold for €92 each (€3.07/kg).

These Suffolk-cross and Charollais-cross ewe lambs weighing 48kg sold for €198 each (€4.13/kg).

Five Suffolk-cross and Texel-cross ewes weighing 79.5kg sold for €190 each (€2.39/kg). The Suffolk ram with an average cover of flesh on left weighed 90.5kg and sold for €140 (€1.55/kg).