Agriculture

Irish lamb and cull ewe quotes hold steady in late October

Factory quotes for lambs and cull ewes are largely unchanged this week, with lamb offers about 40c/kg above year-earlier levels.

Eliora Nadine KesslerOctober 19, 20265 min read8 views
Sheep in wooden pens beside a clipboard and weighing scale in a livestock mart setting, representing the week’s lamb and cull ewe trade.

The Irish sheep trade has begun the week with factory quotes for lambs and cull ewes broadly unchanged, as most processors held their offers at last week’s levels and kept existing lamb carcass-weight limits in place.

For lambs, current factory offers are running about 40c/kg ahead of the same time last year. At this stage in 2025, prices had slipped by 10c/kg in the run-up to the October Bank Holiday weekend.

Processor quotes

  • Kepak is quoting €7.85/kg for lambs plus a 15c/kg Quality Assurance bonus, leaving €8.00/kg on offer up to 22.5kg carcass weight. Its Athleague, Co. Roscommon, site is quoting €4.00/kg for cull ewes.
  • Irish Country Meats (ICM) is quoting €7.90/kg plus a 20c/kg QA bonus, leaving €8.10/kg up to 22.5kg. Its Navan, Co. Meath, and Camolin, Co. Wexford, outlets are quoting €4.30/kg for cull ewes.
  • O’Flynn Meats in Co. Waterford is quoting €8.30/kg for lambs up to 23kg and €5.00/kg for cull ewes.
  • Kildare Chilling (Dawn Meats Kildare) is quoting €7.90/kg plus a 20c/kg QA bonus, leaving €8.10/kg up to 22.5kg. It is quoting €4.50/kg for cull ewes from 35-45kg carcass weight.
  • Ballon Meats in Co. Carlow is quoting €8.20/kg for lambs up to 23kg and €4.80/kg for cull ewes.
  • Dawn Meats Ballyhaunis in Co. Mayo is quoting €7.90/kg plus a 20c/kg QA bonus, leaving €8.10/kg up to 22.5kg. It is quoting €4.50/kg for cull ewes over 35kg.

Range of offers

Across the quoted lamb prices, the offers range from €8.00/kg at Kepak to €8.30/kg at O’Flynn Meats. ICM, Kildare Chilling and Dawn Meats Ballyhaunis are all at €8.10/kg after the QA bonus, while Ballon Meats is at €8.20/kg. The carcass-weight ceilings are 22.5kg at Kepak, ICM, Kildare Chilling and Dawn Meats Ballyhaunis, and 23kg at O’Flynn Meats and Ballon Meats.

For cull ewes, the quoted prices range from €4.00/kg at Kepak’s Athleague site to €5.00/kg at O’Flynn Meats. ICM’s Navan and Camolin outlets are at €4.30/kg, Kildare Chilling and Dawn Meats Ballyhaunis are at €4.50/kg, and Ballon Meats is at €4.80/kg. The Kildare Chilling quote applies to cull ewes from 35-45kg carcass weight, while the Dawn Meats Ballyhaunis quote applies to cull ewes over 35kg.

Stable opening

The unchanged offers mean that, at the processors listed, lamb and cull ewe sellers are facing the same quoted prices and lamb weight limits as last week. The year-on-year comparison shows lamb quotes remain stronger than at the same stage last year, although the 10c/kg slip recorded ahead of the 2025 October Bank Holiday weekend indicates that prices can move before the holiday period.