The pace of the trade at last week’s Donegal Mule Group sale was described as rapid by Ballybofey and Stranorlar Co-Operative Mart manager Brian Crawford.
He said that demand was at such a level that many customers went home empty-handed.
Prices did not top out at as high a level as recent years, but Brian reports that the trade was more balanced, with hogget prices increasing by about €12 to €15/head on average, while ewe lambs were on a par to last year.
Tight bracket
The general run of approximately 350 hoggets on offer sold in a tight price bracket, ranging from €180 to €205 and recording an average price in the region of €193/head. This compares to the general run of €160 to €180/head 12 months ago.
A handful of lots exceeded a price of €205/head and rose to a top call of €245/head.
Likewise, at the opposite end of the price spectrum, a small number of lots comprising light and plainer-quality hoggets sold from €155 to €170.
Brian believes that the sale would have had no problem finding homes for 200 to 250 more hoggets without having any significant influence on competition levels and prices realised.
Keen demand
The sale was helped by keen demand from buyers travelling from as far as the midlands, with in the region of 700 of the 1,700 head entry finding new homes outside of Donegal.
Prices paid for ewe lambs were strongly influenced by lamb liveweight. Weights were not presented, but lambs on offer ranged from shy of 30kg to the low-40kg weight range.
Lambs at the higher end of the range and exhibiting good size and breeding potential sold from €130 to €152, with a top call of €160 paid for the first prizewinners.
Medium-weight lambs and lighter lots with strong breeding potential traded from €100 to €120, while light and some plainer-quality types sold from €80 to €98, with a handful of lots below this range.
Donegal Mule Group’s Kieran McGrath said: “A high percentage of the lambs on offer are younger lambs that have received no feeding.
"We have customers who have a preference for these type of lambs with good potential to thrive on and breed and in this regard the group has been a big success to provide producers with a platform to market higher numbers of lambs.”
Possessing good length, this batch of 10 Mule ewe lambs sold for €140 each.
This larger batch of 14 Mule ewe lambs sold for €116 each.
This batch of 12 light and plainer-quality hoggets sold for €155 per head.
This pen of 12 nice-quality Mule ewe lambs sold for €146 each.
This batch of nine first-prizewinning Mule ewe hoggets sold for €230 each.
This smaller batch of five good-quality hoggets sold for €195 each.
This batch of eight blacker-headed Mule hoggets sold for €190 each.
This batch of 10 medium-sized hoggets sold for €180 each.
This batch of 11 evenly matched ewe hoggets sold for €200 each.
This batch of 12 ewe lambs exhibiting great length sold for €140 each.
This group of seven ewe lambs sold for €114 each.
These couple of strong Mule ewe lambs sold for €162 per head.
This pen of 10 medium-sized Mule ewe lambs sold for €112 per head.
This batch of 12 young and light Mule ewe lambs with a black head sold for €86 each.
This batch of 10 blacker-headed type Mule ewe lambs sold for €136 each.
The pace of the trade at last week’s Donegal Mule Group sale was described as rapid by Ballybofey and Stranorlar Co-Operative Mart manager Brian Crawford.
He said that demand was at such a level that many customers went home empty-handed.
Prices did not top out at as high a level as recent years, but Brian reports that the trade was more balanced, with hogget prices increasing by about €12 to €15/head on average, while ewe lambs were on a par to last year.
Tight bracket
The general run of approximately 350 hoggets on offer sold in a tight price bracket, ranging from €180 to €205 and recording an average price in the region of €193/head. This compares to the general run of €160 to €180/head 12 months ago.
A handful of lots exceeded a price of €205/head and rose to a top call of €245/head.
Likewise, at the opposite end of the price spectrum, a small number of lots comprising light and plainer-quality hoggets sold from €155 to €170.
Brian believes that the sale would have had no problem finding homes for 200 to 250 more hoggets without having any significant influence on competition levels and prices realised.
Keen demand
The sale was helped by keen demand from buyers travelling from as far as the midlands, with in the region of 700 of the 1,700 head entry finding new homes outside of Donegal.
Prices paid for ewe lambs were strongly influenced by lamb liveweight. Weights were not presented, but lambs on offer ranged from shy of 30kg to the low-40kg weight range.
Lambs at the higher end of the range and exhibiting good size and breeding potential sold from €130 to €152, with a top call of €160 paid for the first prizewinners.
Medium-weight lambs and lighter lots with strong breeding potential traded from €100 to €120, while light and some plainer-quality types sold from €80 to €98, with a handful of lots below this range.
Donegal Mule Group’s Kieran McGrath said: “A high percentage of the lambs on offer are younger lambs that have received no feeding.
"We have customers who have a preference for these type of lambs with good potential to thrive on and breed and in this regard the group has been a big success to provide producers with a platform to market higher numbers of lambs.”
Possessing good length, this batch of 10 Mule ewe lambs sold for €140 each.
This larger batch of 14 Mule ewe lambs sold for €116 each.
This batch of 12 light and plainer-quality hoggets sold for €155 per head.
This pen of 12 nice-quality Mule ewe lambs sold for €146 each.
This batch of nine first-prizewinning Mule ewe hoggets sold for €230 each.
This smaller batch of five good-quality hoggets sold for €195 each.
This batch of eight blacker-headed Mule hoggets sold for €190 each.
This batch of 10 medium-sized hoggets sold for €180 each.
This batch of 11 evenly matched ewe hoggets sold for €200 each.
This batch of 12 ewe lambs exhibiting great length sold for €140 each.
This group of seven ewe lambs sold for €114 each.
These couple of strong Mule ewe lambs sold for €162 per head.
This pen of 10 medium-sized Mule ewe lambs sold for €112 per head.
This batch of 12 young and light Mule ewe lambs with a black head sold for €86 each.
This batch of 10 blacker-headed type Mule ewe lambs sold for €136 each.
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