It was a case of ‘as you were’ on the factory side of the sheep trade yesterday, while on the mart front prices for store lambs moved up by €5-7/hd, with reduced numbers lifting factory lambs by around €2/hd.
actory quotes for lambs remain firmly wedged at €6.00-6.20/kg.
Did some farmers feel that the trade has stabilised and that the next movement might be upwards?
However, those better mart prices were more likely the result of smaller sales, because of the Ploughing.
Kildare Chilling remain on paper the strongest payer for lamb with their quote of €6.20+10c/kg quality assurance.
On the cull side, the two ICMs continue to quote €3.30/kg , but Dawn and Kildare did not quote yesterday. Asked why, a Dawn representative replied simply: “The market has gone quiet.”
Which I took at face value, on the basis that the markets they are supplying are probably keener on lamb than manufacturing sheepmeat right now.
Like everything in this business that could change overnight with one phone call.
Another factory rep said there had been an increase in under-finished sheep, adding: “It has been a funny year. We kill a lot of lamb from traditional sheep men who never feed meal. This year their lambs look well but they are not dying well.”
Sean McNamara of the ICSA agrees, pointing out that even if they had chosen to feed, the costs involved could not be justified.
With sterling weakening against the euro, Sean also wonders whether we could now see more lamb coming into the Republic for direct slaughter from the North.
Last week the Livestock and Meat Commission in the North reported factory quotes for lambs as ranging from the equivalent of €5.66-5.71/kg; this week the range is from €5.49-5.60/kg.
British Prime Minister Liz Truss’s mini-budget last week destabilised sterling and saw it drop 3p in value against the Euro between Thursday and Sunday, going from 87-90p.
While it had recovered to 89p yesterday, the volatility of sterling is a concern.
As to where prices for factory lambs are actually at, Mr McNamara gave the range as €6.30-6.50/kg, with cull ewes selling from €3.30-3.50/kg.
IFA Sheep Committee chairman Kevin Comiskey gave a broader sweep, quoting prices from €6.10-6.50/kg for factory lambs to 22kg, with cull ewes on €3.40-3.70/kg.
Around the marts
Baltinglass
Trade was better here, with store lambs €4-6/hd stronger — resulting in the tops making €110/hd — while 35-40kg lambs improved by around €2/hd.
Butcher types remained steady with 50-55kgs selling from €138-150/hd.
On the breeding side Suffolk cross ewe lambs sold from €145-150/hd with Suffolk cross ewe hoggets €145-180/hd.
Cheviot hoggets sold to a top of €180/hd with 2-4-year olds hitting €160/hd on occasion.
There was a very strong cast ewe trade, with prices running from €75-128/hd. Breeding rams made €200-450/hd.
Carnew
A smaller sale due to the Ploughing saw much more bite to the trade with fat sheep well up on the previous week — the top call had 48kgs making €145/hd, a jump of around €5-7/hd.
Other sample prices included 42-46kgs from €123-138/hd and 50kgs to €141/hd.
The store trade held very well with 35-38kgs selling to tops of €97-108/hd, while better 33-35kg stores made €92-97/hd.
Numbers of cast ewes were small, with stores from 65-75kg making €93-130/hd.
On the breeding side hoggets topped out at €210/hd, with most selling for €170-190/hd. Lighter older ewes sold from €130/hd, with stronger ones selling to €170/hd.
Loughrea
James Cooney said the average price for lamb was “slightly better” by €2/hd, with his top call seeing 51kgs selling to €146/hd.
Samples across the board included 49kgs at €140/hd, 46kgs at €134/hd, 42kgs at €116/hd and 39kgs at €109/hd.
Culls fell by up to €10/hd, but the top call still reached the €200/hd mark in the case of one batch of 107kgs, while 80-85kg ewes sold just to €2.00/kg making €160-165/hd.
Athenry
Yesterday’s sale had close to 1,800 sheep on offer. Trade for lambs was better by €2-3/hd, with the top calls seeing 52kgs selling to €150/hd and 48kgs making €142/hd.
In the lighter division 40-42kgs sold from €113-115/hd, with 38kg ewe lambs selling to €132kg, while 35kgs made around the €100/hd mark.
Breeding ewes were easier — a result of the quality on offer being not quite as strong as previously. The tops sold for €176-186/hd while lighter types made €150-155/hd.
Heavy cull ewes from 75-90kg sold for €135-176/hd, with 71-75kgs making €80-100/hd.
Ennis
The story here yesterday was of a smaller sale, with 550 sheep on offer, including a strong entry of stores that met a good trade.
The top call among the heavier butcher types saw seven 50.5kg lambs average €159/hd, with sixteen at 50kg making €151/hd.
The top 45-47kg lambs sold from €120-137/hd. Under-fleshed lambs continue to surface and were a difficult sell.
Among the stores the top calls included ten of 38kg for €112/hd, with 36kgs selling from €105-108/hd, while ten 33.5kg lambs averaged €95/hd.
The small entry of culls topped out at €141/hd for 95kgs.
