Suftex ewe lamb tops Springhill female sale at 2,700gns

The annual Springhill and Ballynoe sale gathered a large crowd of buyers from all across Ireland and the UK at Beatties Pedigree Centre, Omagh. There was just over 90 lots of top-quality pedigree and show-quality commercial females on offer.

Top price on the night came from the Springhill Flock of Graham Foster for his cracking Suftex ewe lamb that sold for 2,700gns (€3,383).

This standout lamb was sired by the Fosters’ Texel stock ram Kilduff Ethan and its dam was a pedigree Suffolk ewe. The lamb found its new home in Co Clare with Damien Davoren. On the night, the Springhill Suftex ewe lambs averaged a very impressive 1,046gns (€1,310).

The next top price of the sale came from Ian Craig of the Ballynoe Flock with his December-born Charollais ewe lamb that went on to sell for 2,350gns (€2,944). This powerful ewe lamb was a daughter of the £10,000 Artnagullion Bandit and she sold to Ben Radley.

Super stock ewe

The next lot to hit over 2,000gns (€2,267) for Ian was a super 2022-born stock ewe. This impressive ewe had bred lambs to 3,200gns in 2024 and she was sold scanned with twins to Artnagullion Bandit. She found her new home with Richard Powell for 2,100gns (€2,631).

Next up to sell for 2,000gns (€2,506) was a serious-bodied shearling ewe from the Springhill Flock. This super shearling was the 2023 reserve interbreed champion ewe lamb at Balmoral and was scanned in lamb with a single to the £24,000 (€28,800) Boyo Bravemansgame.

She heads across the water to renowned Charollais breeder David Roberts. The Springhill Flock achieved a very strong average of 1,750gns (€2,193) for in-lamb shearling ewes and an average of just under 600gns (€752) for Charollais ewe lambs.

Also, on the night, the Fosters had a strong team of Chartex ewe lambs forward that topped at 1,200gns (€1,504) and had a 100% clearance rate. This powerhouse of a lamb was again sired by the Fosters’ Texel stock ram Kilduff Ethan and its dam was a pedigree Charollais ewe.

The last lots to go through the ring were the Milfords and they were by no means least, achieving a 100% clearance rate and topping at 450gns each (€565) for a pair of sharp ewe lambs. These eight cracking March-born lambs achieved an average of 338gns (€424).