Cold conditions outside the ring did not stop buyers from wagging their fingers to bid in Ballymote on Tuesday night for the evening sheep sale.

With strong factory prices bolstering confidence in buyers, all classes of sheep were in heavy demand.

Factory agents were present for heavy lambs and finished ewes, while specialist lamb finishers battled with farmer buyers for store lambs and ewes.

Finished lambs

Finished lambs were present in good numbers, with the majority being well finished and with good kill-out potential.

Buyers were active for lambs from 46kg upwards once flesh was present. Lambs in the 49kg to 52kg bracket saw the highest price per kilo in general, trading between €3.55/kg and €3.75/kg or €174 and €188/head, though lambs in the 46kg to 48kg bracket also traded similarly for top-quality lots.

Lambs weighing between 51kg and 55kg were eagerly sought after to reach full kill-out weights, with lambs selling between €3.43/kg and €3.55/kg.

Heavy lambs above this weight were penalised slightly on a price-per-kilo basis, achieving similar prices per head as their lighter comrades, showing that weight restrictions are in place to an extent.

These types traded at €3.28/kg to €3.40/kg, with top prices of €190/head.

Store lambs

Store lambs were probably the highlight of the night, with price per kilo exceeding those of the fat lambs.

Clean, even bunches of lambs were most sought after, with a slight preference being seen for ewe lambs, though there were few lots with the potential to make breeding hoggets.

Poorer-quality stores for long-term finishing sold from €3.60/kg upwards in the main, with light hill-cross ram lambs falling below this.

Some exceptional demand was seen for top-quality even batches of lighter ewe lambs, with a pen of three weighing 32kg selling for €130 (€4.06/kg) and another pen of 13 weighing 32kg selling for €133(€4.16/kg).

Stores from 36kg and upwards with good fleshing sold freely from €3.70/kg up to €3.95/kg for exceptional lots.

Cull ewe numbers were small, but nearly all present were well-finished heavy types.

Prices varied between €1.87/kg and €2.20/kg for lowland ewes. Price per head ranged from €156 to €200, with one pen of hill-cross-type ewes with flesh weighing 51kg selling for €90/head (€1.76/kg). Lowland ewes in the midweight bracket of 64kg to 75kg were 10c to 20c/kg ahead of some of the heavier classes of ewes on offer.

In pictures

This pen of seven ram lambs weighing 51kg sold for €186/head (€3.65/kg).

This pen of five ewe lambs weighing 52kg sold for €187/head (€3.60/kg).

This pen of three ewe lambs weighing 41kg sold for €156/head (€3.80/kg).

This pen of five ram lambs weighing 46kg sold for €168/head (€3.73/kg).

This pen of four ram lambs weighing 58kg sold for €190/head (€3.28/kg).

This pen of seven ram lambs weighing 51kg sold for €187/head (€3.60/kg).

This pen of 14 ewe lambs weighing 47kg sold for €174/head (€3.70/kg).

This pen of five ram lambs weighing 57kg sold for €190/head (€3.30/kg).

This pen of 10 ram lambs weighing 50kg sold for €179/head (€3.58/kg).

This pen of two cull ewes weighing 79kg sold for €148/head (€1.87/kg).

This pen of three cull ewes weighing 69kg sold for €156/head (€2.26/kg).