Camera at the Mart: demand for breeding sheep and store lambs in Ballymena

There was a large entry of 3,500 sheep in Ballymena Livestock Mart for its weekly breeding sheep and store lamb sale.

The sale gathered a large crowd of buyers around each ring.

With a large number of sheep available, demand remained high throughout the sale.

Buyers came from all across Northern Ireland to seek out top-quality breeding ewe hoggets, breeding ewe lambs and forward store lambs.

Demand for ewe hoggets remained high, with many lots reaching over the £200 (€240) mark.

Topping the ewe hogget trade was a pair of Texel ewe hoggets from A Thompson that sold for £340/head (€407).

Their pen mate - another Texel ewe hogget - also hit the £300 mark and sold for £310 (€371).

Demand for Suffolk and Suffolk-cross ewe hoggets remained very strong, with these ewe hoggets selling for between £260 (€311) and £210 (€252).

A smaller entry for high-class Mule ewe hoggets sold from £240 (€287) to £212 (€254).

Demand for top-quality Cheviot ewe hoggets was also high, with these top-quality lots selling from £288 (€345) to £215 (€258).

The number of Texel and Texel-cross ewe hoggets on offer was low on the night, but achieved prices from £235 (€282) to £210 (€252).

The top price achieved on the night for breeding ewe lambs was £175 (€210) for a bunch of top-quality Cheviot ewe lambs.

With a large number of high-quality Cheviot ewe lambs on offer, demand remained high, with these top lots selling from £175 (€210) to £145 (€174).

Suffolk and Suffolk-cross ewe lambs also sold well on the night, with the higher-quality lots selling from £165 (€198) to £145 (€174).

A large number of buyers gathered in the store lamb ring, where prices remained strong throughout the sale.

The top price was achieved by a bunch of 20 Suffolk lambs that sold for £116 (€139).

A large number of the store lambs on offer were Suffolk and Suffolk-cross lambs. The majority of these sold between £116 (€139) and £99 (€118).

There was also a large number of Texel-sired store lambs available, with prices ranging from £114 (€136) to £99 (€118).

The next breeding sheep and store lamb sale in Ballymena will take place on Monday 30 September at 6pm. A sale of lambs, hoggets and fat ewe will take place on Wednesday 2 October at 10.30am.