Over 300 lots were offered for sale at Kilkenny Mart on Monday, December 21st, according to George Candler.
A top call of €133 was recorded for lambs, while cull ewes topped out at €137.
“All numbers have started to dry up, but prices have remained very solid. Looking back, it has been an excellent year all-round for the sheep producer with farmers exceeding €100/head for factory and butcher types all year.”
“Most farmers are happy when the €100 barrier is broken for lambs.”
Butcher lambs – €2.30-€2.62/kg or €120-€133/head:
- X15 54kg – €131;
- X10 56kg – €133;
- X11 55kg – €132;
- X10 53kg – €131;
- X8 50kg – €131;
- X12 50kg – €135.
Factory lambs – €2.50-€2.72/kg or €110-€128/head:
- X10 48kg – €126;
- X20 47kg – €128;
- X10 46kg – €117;
- X8 44kg – €116;
- X10 43kg – €115;
- X8 42kg – €117.
Other categories:
- Cast ewes – €60-€137/head;
- Freshly-calved Friesian cows and heifers – €1,200-€1,620.
First sale at Kilkenny Mart in 2021
The first sale of 2021 – Thursday, January 7th with a sheep sale on Monday 11th January which will include calves.
Kilkenny Mart’s first dairy sale, in conjunction, with its sheep sale will be on Monday, January 18th, which includes a clearance sale of an entire herd of over 50 head.
A happy Christmas one and all in these most troubling times. Hopefully, 2021 will eventually turn into normality as the year progresses.
Prices at Kilkenny Mart last week
Some 500 entries were presented for sale at Kilkenny Mart on Monday (December 14th), according to George Candler.
The mart’s auctioneer reported that trade for sheep remained strong, especially for butcher and factory-type lambs.
“A similar-sized sale to last week with butcher and factory lambs attracting slightly more interest.”
“The store trade was a bit easier, mainly due to a decrease in the quality on offer and the fact that many farmer customers have now filled their order books.”
Sheep prices Kilkenny Mart
Butcher lambs – €2.45-€2.58/kg or €118-€133/head:
- X12 53kgs – €133;
- X10 52kgs – €133;
- X28 51kgs – €130;
- X13 50kgs – €129;
- X10 49kgs – €120;
- X20 48kgs – €123.
Factory lambs – €2.45-€2.65/kg or €106-€124/head:
- X14 47kgs – €124;
- X10 46kgs – €122;
- X15 45kgs – €118;
- X12 44kgs – €115;
- X14 43kgs – €106;
- X10 42kgs – €106.
Store lambs – €2.50-€2.65/kg or €86-€103/head:
- X12 41kgs – €103;
- X8 40kgs – €101;
- X8 39kgs – €103;
- X7 38kgs – €95;
- X6 37kgs – €94;
- X5 36kgs – €90.
