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Weather is reported as holding back the performance of February lambing flocks and in turn limiting the number of sheep curentl coming stream. \ Houston Green
The sheep trade remains solid, with tight supplies continuing to maintain a strong floor under the trade.
The rate at which lambs are coming on to the market appears to have slowed somewhat in the last week.
Reports suggest this is due to weather limiting the performance of lambs in February-lambing flocks, with both daily liveweight gain and kill-out potential suffering.
Unchanged prices
The price of spring lambs is unchanged, with base quotes ranging from €7.60/kg to €7.80/kg and a high percentage of lambs trading at a price of €7.80/kg to €8/kg.
Demand is solid for fleshed spring lambs with good conformation and kill-out potential. \ Patrick Browne
Mart managers are reporting a relatively solid trade over the last week for hoggets and spring lambs.
Prices have eased in some cases by €2 to €5 per head for certain categories of stock, with lighter spring lambs for example easing back in price, but prices for other classes have been underpinned by firm competition between buyers.
Quality is also having a major influence on price and this is particularly the case for hoggets, with a price differential of up to €10 or even greater between similar-weight hoggets of varying quality.
Finishing cattle at grass in August last year. These heifers were receiving 3kg/d concentrates.
It is often said that there is as much variation within a breed as there is across breeds, and looking at the production data from the Thrive demonstration farm for the 2019-born stock this certainly holds true.
With all the 2019-born animals now slaughtered, we are able to look at some of the facts and figures from the group.
We must remember that this is a relatively small sample size and therefore we must be careful with any extrapolation of the data to a national scale.
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There is more appetite than normal at this time of the year for ewe hoggets with breeding potential.
The mart trade continues to enjoy a rich vein of form, with all classes of stock meeting a vibrant trade.
There have been a few reports of spring lambs meeting an easier trade and prices easing by €3 to €7 for lighter lambs, but where this has occurred, it has generally been from a higher-than-average price point in the week previous.
There is quite a bit of price variation within sales for lambs of a similar weight but variable quality.
Heavier types weighing 45kg to 50kg are trading anywhere from €160 to €180, with small numbers of top-quality lots hitting up to €185.