Sheep sales held last week continued to perform strongly, with hoggets and heavy cast ewes a particularly strong trade.

Spring lambs were also a solid trade, but prices weren't as strong as those seen in previous weeks, with prices in excess of €190/head few and far between.

Looking at spring lambs first, lambs weighing 45kg plus have been making from €170-180/head in general, with top prices pushing €185/head and as high as €190/head in isolated cases.

40-44kg lambs in the main sold from €140/head up to €170/head. Lambs weighing back as far as 30kg started from €100/head and pushed to €135-140/head, in general.

Hogget numbers at marts continue to dwindle, with quality now becoming increasingly variable.

However, prices remain strong, especially for ewe hoggets with breeding potential.

Prices for 50kg plus hoggets are generally ranging anywhere from €155-160/head for lesser-quality types and up to €180-185/head for better-quality lots.

Some sales last week saw prices of between €185-192/head for 50kg hoggets.

46-49kg hoggets again are generally selling from €155-170/head, with top-quality lots breaking past the €170/head mark.

The cull ewe trade at marts remains strong, with top prices for fleshed ewes in excess of 90kg ranging from €140/head up to €180/head, with some ewes, especially those over 100kg, selling to highs of €190-210/head.

Lighter ewes in the mid-80kg bracket generally sold to highs of €130-135/head, with prices for ewes weighing 80kg selling back to €100-105/head.

Ewes in the 70-79kg bracket have generally been making from €90/head up to as high as €110-125/head.

The trade for ewes with lambs at foot remains solid and relatively unchanged on the previous week.

Aged ewes with single lambs at foot continue to sell from €130/unit up to a high of €190-210/unit for younger ewes with strong single lambs at foot, with exceptional lots making up to €220-230/unit.

Ewes with twin lambs at foot generally continue to make from €220/unit up to €290/unit, with excellent lots making from €300/unit up to €340/unit in some cases.

Dowra Mart held its weekly sale of sheep on Friday last (April 16), with the mart's manager, Terry McGovern, reporting a very large entry of sheep.

Terry added that the quality of sheep on offer was not as good as the previous week, but in saying that, prices were very strong, with spring lambs making up to €191/head and hoggets selling to a high of €192/head.

Heavy cull ewes made to a top price of €170/head, with store ewes making from €70/head to €130/head.

Ewes with lambs at foot made to a top price of €310 for five ewes with eight lambs at foot.

Roscommon Mart held its weekly sale of sheep on Wednesday last (April 14).

A strong trade was seen for hoggets and heavy cull ewes in particular, with spring lambs also a solid trade.

Hogget prices topped €196/head or 62kg. The majority of those 50kg plus hoggets sold upwards of €170/head, with many of the top-quality hoggets selling above €180/head.

Hoggets in the 46-49kg weight bracket generally made from €148/head up to €180/head.

45-49kg lambs traded from €170/head up to €178/head. Lambs in the 40-44kg weight bracket made from €146/head for 40.8kg up to €174/head for lambs just over 44kg.

Heavy ewes made from €140/head, up to €160-165/head in general, with the exception of a handful of ewes that made from €166-178/head.

Ewes with single lambs at foot made from €210/unit up to €270/unit.

Ewes with two lambs at foot started at €250/unit and sold up to a high of €305/unit.