Suffolk sheep is a familiar and extremely popular breed in Connacht and this year marks the fiftieth anniversary since the foundation of the West of Ireland Registered Pedigree Suffolk Sheep Breeders Club.
To mark the occasion, a magazine has been published as a special anniversary edition celebrating 50 years of the Club in the Province.
The Club has a long and proud tradition over the years, with Pedigree Suffolk Flocks in the West of Ireland accounting for just over 25% of all Flocks registered with the Suffolk Sheep Society. Of those breeders 20% are based in Sligo.
Remarkably, the Suffolk Sheep Society themselves have reached the incredible milestone of 135 since its establishment, making it one of the oldest breeds in the world.
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Those selling to €150/head and above have generally been weighing in excess of 54-55kg. Price for hoggets in the 47-49kg weight bracket have generally been from €130/head up to €140/head.
Looking at the trade for heavy cull ewes, even though factory prices dipped in some plants by 10c/kg, the mart trade has remained quite strong for those types.
In the main, well-fleshed culls have been selling from €120/head up to €135/head, with some sales reporting prices of up to €140/head and a bit with it in cases.
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The drive and competition between factory agents to get their hands on ‘factory-fit’ cattle continued last week, with little or no setbacks in trade reported in marts.
Some mart managers were also reporting the fact that some cattle were either overage or out-of-spec had minimal impact on their prices last week.
Looking at the forward bullocks first of all, these were securing prices of generally ranging from €2.10/kg up to of €2.30/kg. Hereford and Angus bullocks that were ready for hanging up were fetching prices of €1.95-2.10/kg.
Beef heifers with continental breeding were averaging at €2.15-2.25/kg, with plenty of stand out prices recorded in some marts.
December 15, 2020 6:10 am
It was another strong week of trading at sheep marts across the country, with many mart managers reporting price increases for heavy lambs of €1-2/head.
Butchers and wholesalers continue to battle it out for well-fleshed lambs in excess of 50kg, with top prices of €130-134/head being reported at marts over the past seven days.
48-49kg lambs continue to be in strong demand, with prices ranging from €124/head up to €128/head in many cases.
Factory agents have also been very active with factory lambs still commanding top prices of up to €123-125/head at marts.
In general, factory lambs have been trading from €108/head up to €118-120/head over the past week for lambs weighing 43-46kg, with slightly heavier (47kg), fleshed lambs breaking the €120/head mark in most cases.