Sheep mart prices: hogget prices rise by €3 to €8 per head

An increase in factory prices and agents having more success in negotiating higher carcase weight limits has inserted much more life into the trade for heavier hoggets.

Darren Carty

26 March 2025

Sheep mart prices: hogget prices rise by €3 to €8 per head

These three ewes, all three years old and with doubles, sold for £400 each in Northern Ireland this week.

There is much more life in the hogget trade in recent days, following upward movement in factory prices and regular sellers having more success in negotiating higher carcase weight limits. Mart managers report average prices increasing anywhere from €3 to €8/head.

There is much more life in the hogget trade in recent days, following upward movement in factory prices and regular sellers having more success in negotiating higher carcase weight limits.

Mart managers report average prices increasing anywhere from €3 to €8/head.

Hoggets weighing around the 50kg to 52kg mark are selling in the main from €203 to €210/head, depending on quality.

The keenest demand is still for lighter types, but with numbers falling, factories are showing an improved appetite for heavier sheep.

Hoggets weighing upwards of 55kg are trading from €210 to €217 on average, with some very heavy types rising to and exceeding €220/head.

Entries in marts have tightened significantly on the previous week, with some managers reporting 30% to 50% fewer hoggets on offer.

This is also inserting much more competition into the trade, while there has also been interest in recent weeks from buyers purchasing ewe hoggets with breeding potential.

Some sales have witnessed as many cull ewes on offer as hoggets, with strong prices continuing to encourage more sellers to market hoggets live.

Prices for good-quality well-fleshed lowland ewes continue to range from €2.70/kg to €2.90/kg, with a selection of young and well-conformed ewes rising to and exceeding €3/kg.

Ewes with an average cover of flesh are trading from€2.20/kg to €2.50/kg, with very few ewes below a price of €2/kg.

Scottish Blackface ewes are trading from €1.70/kg to upwards of €2/kg for heavier ewes and falling back to €1.30/kg to €1.50/kg for lighter types or ewes lacking flesh.

The trade for ewes with lambs at foot is solid. Outfits comprising young ewes or large-framed ewes and good-quality lambs a few weeks of age are topping €380 to €400 per unit, with top prices hitting €430 to €450.

Outfits with young or light lambs and smaller-framed ewes are selling back to €300 to €340. Single-lamb units are trading anywhere from €200 to €230 for plainer-quality lots to as high as €300 to €320-plus for top-quality sheep.