More lambs are passing through sale rings this week, but, thankfully, prices are holding firm.

Factory agents remain active for numbers and reluctant to let lambs slip through their fingers.

However, with sheep that bit easier to come by, buyers are able to source lambs without having to increase prices.

With little change to the trade, the general run of prices for heavy fleshed lambs over 50kg are typically €97 to €102 over sale weight.

At the top end of the market, top-quality butcher type lambs are returning €105 to €106 over sale weight. In contrast, under-fleshed and plainer types are making €90 over weight.

Good factory lambs between 47kg and 49kg are making €88 to €96 over weight, while medium-weight lots weighing 44kg to 46kg that are well covered in terms of flesh are returning €125 to €135 over weight.

Leaner lambs are making €120, or below, depending on fat over.

Store lambs

Moving to store lambs, the trade is steady, but there is a big variation on price for short-keep lambs depending on flesh cover.

Good-quality continental-type lambs are making €2.70/kg to €2.90/kg, with plainer lots and crossbred lambs back at €2.50/kg to €2.60/kg.

Hill lambs with strong weights are making €2.30/kg to €2.55/kg, but lighter types are a challenging trade at €2/kg to €2.30/kg.

Weight is key to getting lambs to sell above the €2/kg mark, but this is growing increasingly hard on grass-fed animals without meal.

Cull ewes

The cull ewe trade is firm, with most reports on heavy fleshed lots over 90kg at €135 to €155. Good-quality ewes weighing around 85kg are selling from €120 to €140/head on average.

Lighter fleshed ewes weighing closer to 75kg are selling from €90 to €100, but some reports indicate prices of €110 for quality lots.

Scottish Blackface ewes and boner-type animals remain on prices of 70c/kg to €1/kg in the main, with larger-framed ewes a better trade as prices of €1.10/kg to €1.15/kg are more common.