The first sheep sale of 2024 at Cootehill Mart, Co. Cavan, saw "a good, steady trade" for the 100-odd lots of sheep on offer.

Speaking to Agriland after the sale, mart manager Geoffrey Drury said prices for fat lambs over 50kgs reached "€154/head tops".

Commenting on the trade for the store lambs on offer, he said: "A lot of them good store lambs are getting into €3/kg for the better-quality ones."

He explained that the trade for the better-type lambs has increased since Christmas, while the plainer-type lamb prices are a similar trade to before Christmas.

He said there were four-to-five factory agents and a few butchers buying the fat lambs, while farmers are still active in good numbers buying the store lambs.

The Cootehill Mart sale also featured a selection of in-lamb ewes. The top price in the in-lamb ewe sale went to a batch of four, two and three-year-old ewes that sold for €200/head.

"There was a ewe with two nice Suffolk lambs at foot that sold for €305," the mart manager added.

There was also a number of ewes which had been scanned empty that featured in the sale.

Commenting on the trade for these, the mart manager said: "There were fat ewes weighing 90kg that sold for €165/head", and noted that last year, "they were making €200/head plus".

He noted that factory buyers "are not as anxious for the store ewes", and explained that the current trade would indicate factory buyers are focusing their efforts on the fat lambs.

Commenting on the cattle sale, the mart manager explained that preparations are being made for the busy calf sale season, and also noted a rise in the level of interest from customers for weanlings this coming spring.

He also said that the mart will be hosting a number of special sales of organic cattle over the spring, and noted the growing level of interest in organic cattle sales in the region.

Cootehill Mart hosts a sheep sale every Thursday evening and a cattle sale every Friday evening.