Spring lamb prices eased back €3-4/head at Enniscorthy Mart on Wednesday (April 20).

Speaking to Agriland, the mart's manager, Kevin Murphy, elaborated on Wednesday's trade.

"There were 100 lots of sheep on offer and hoggets weren’t as plentiful as recent weeks," he said.

"Spring lamb was back slightly on last week. The hoggets held their value, while the cull ewes met an exceptional trade - particularly the heavy well fleshed ewes. Overall, a very positive trade for the time of the year."

There were more spring lambs on offer which were back €3 -4/head on last week. Almost half of these were bought by both local butchers and wholesale butchers, while the remainder were bought by factory agents.

Prices ranged from €150/head up to €168/head, or from €108 to €118 over their weight.

Sample spring lamb prices:

Hoggets weren’t as plentiful, but they held their own. These were mostly bought by factory agents and prices ranged from €148/head for 10 hoggets at 46kg, to €168 for a single hogget at 60kg.

Sample hogget prices:

There was a big entry of cull ewes on the day, all of which were a good trade. However, the heavy, well-fleshed culls were an exceptional trade.

There is a massive cull-ewe demand from two wholesale butchers who are setting the tone of the trade.

There were some standout prices, with a pen of 31 Charollais culls weighing 99kg making €248 a piece, while a single ewe weighing 120kg made €268.

Sample heavy cull ewe prices:

Sample store cull ewe prices: