Sheep prices: ewe hoggets continue to sell strongly

The trade for breeding hoggets remains a bright aspect of the mart trade, with managers continuing to report demand exceeding supplies coming on stream.

The general run of prices for top-quality lowland hoggets ranges from €230 to €280/head, with a selection of excellent-quality and large-framed lots continuing to rise to and exceed €300/head.

Lighter hoggets with good breeding potential are trading from €200 to €240/head, with plainer-quality types back to €170 to €180/head. The tighter supplies on offer is inserting more demand into the trade for poorer-quality hoggets that in other years would typically meet sluggish demand.

Numbers of hill breed hoggets are rising gradually and a wide differential also remains in prices paid.

Prices are €30 to €50 higher on average than in 2023, with the best-quality lots exceeding €200/head, while lighter ewe hoggets are trading from €130 to €160, with only small numbers below this range.

Firmer appetite

There are signs of a firmer appetite for fleshed lambs, with numbers noticeably tighter in many sales.

Prices for lambs weighing upwards of 50kg range in the main from €157 to €164. Top-quality lots are rising to and topping €170/head, while plainer-quality and lots lacking flesh are falling back to €150.

It is a similar story for lambs weighing 46kg to 48kg, with prices ranging anywhere from the low €140s to high €150s.

There is more variability in reports on store lamb prices. Good-quality lowland stores continue to range from €2.90/kg to €3.10/kg.

There are still lambs selling to €3.30/kg to €3.40/kg, but, in some sales, lighter lambs are trading at the lower price range.

Plain-quality and crossbred lambs are trading anywhere from €2.60/kg to €3/kg, with hill lambs anywhere from €2/kg to €2.50/kg depending on weight and the potential to feed in to heavier weights.

Cull ewes are unchanged, with fleshed ewes selling in the main from €1.75/kg to €2/kg. There are still ewes selling to €2.20/kg to €2.30/kg, but numbers are low. Feeding ewe are selling from €1.40/kg to €1.70/kg.