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Agriland
26-05-2025
- Business
- Agriland
Sheep trade: Heavy ewe and hogget price cuts this week
This week's sheep trade has seen processors move to cut prices for ewes and hoggets and hold spring lamb prices for the first half of the week. Up to 50c/kg has been cut from both cull ewe and hogget prices this week, with hogget price now having fallen €1.30/kg since the start of April. The price cuts come ahead of the Muslim festival of Eid al-Adha on Friday, June 6, and many farmers had expected price rises in the sheep trade in advance of this, but to date this has failed to materialise. Factory prices This week, Kepak is quoting €7.35/kg plus a 15c/kg Quality Assurance (QA) bonus for hoggets up to 23kg carcass-weight, leaving €7.50/kg on offer here. This offer is back 50c/kg from last Monday. The Athleague, Co. Roscommon-based factory is quoting €8.85/kg plus a 15c/kg QA bonus for spring lambs up to 21kg carcass-weight leaving €9.00/kg on offer here – the same price as last week. Kepak is quoting €5.00-€5.10/kg for cull ewes up to 46kg carcase weight. This price is back 50c/kg from last week. Irish Country Meats (ICM) is quoting €9.00/kg plus a 20c/kg QA bonus for spring lambs up to 21kg carcase weight leaving €9.20/kg on offer here until Tuesday, May 27. This price is at the same level as last week. The Navan, Co. Meath and Camolin, Co. Wexford based outlet is quoting €7.50/kg plus a 20c/kg QA bonus for hoggets up to 23g carcase weight leaving €7.70/kg on offer here. This price is back 30c/kg from last week. ICM is quoting €5.00/kg for cull ewes – back 50c/kg from last week. Kildare Chilling has no official quotes this week but sources have told Agriland the outlet is paying €7.50/kg for hoggets and €8.80-9.00/kg for QA spring lambs. It is understood the processor has less interest in cull ewes this week but is paying €5/kg for these. Eid lifts sheep trade at Kilkenny Mart There was a smaller sale of sheep at Kilkenny Mart today (Monday, May 26) with 350 head on offer. Speaking to Agriland after the sale, auctioneer George Chandler said: 'Spring lambs met a better trade this week especially ram lambs which attracted more interest due to the Eid al-Adha festival.' Spring lamb prices at the sale peaked at €227/head for 10 lambs averaging 48kg. Another pen of 10 ram lambs weighing 42kg made €184/head. Hoggets made from €180-200/head in the sale with 25 hoggets weighing 59kg each making €200/head. Another 19 hoggets weighing 66kg each made €199/head. Cull ewes made from €70-320/head in the sale.
Agriland
25-05-2025
- Business
- Agriland
Up to €4.88/kg paid for heavy bullocks at Kilkenny Mart
There were 500 cattle on offer at Kilkenny Mart on Thursday, May 23, with as high as €4.88/kg paid for heavy bullocks at the sale. Commenting on the trade, auctioneer George Chandler noted that there were a smaller number of cattle on offer this week but said: 'Trade remains very strong, with more animals than ever exceeding €3,000/head. The Kilkenny Mart auctioneer said that this trend indicates that 'more beef-type cattle are being offered for sale in the marts'. The highest price in the bullock ring was €3,780, which was paid on two occasions in the sale. An 840kg Simmental bullock fetched the price as well as a pair of Charolais bullocks averaging 775kg each. In the heifer ring, a 715kg Charolais heifer made the top price of €3,500. Bullocks over 600kg averaged €4.10/kg, with bullocks from 500-600kg averaging €4.05/kg. In the lighter weight categories, bullocks from 400-500kg averaged €4.03/kg and bullocks below 400kg averaged €4.23/kg. Sample prices included three Angus bullocks with an average weight of 365kg that sold for €1,610/head or €4.41/kg. Beef heifers at the Kilkenny Mart sale averaged €4.10/kg in the sale, with forward-store heifers averaging €4.31/kg and light store heifers averaging €4.15/kg. Sample heifer prices included two Limousin heifers with an average weight of 690kg that sold for €4.67/kg or €3,220/head. Another entry of five Charolais heifers with an average weight of 530kg sold for €4.47/kg or €2,370/head. Three Hereford heifers with an average weight of 370kg sold for €4.05/kg or €1,500/head, while two Friesian heifers averaging 440kg sold for €3.84/kg or €1,590/head. There were 120 cows on offer in the sale and the lower-grading cull cows sold from €0.80c/kg to €2.40/kg, with better-type Friesians making from €2.70-€3.60/kg. Continental-bred cull cows at the sale at Kilkenny Mart made from €2.80-€4.59/kg, with a top price in the cull cow ring of €4,020.
