Hogget prices 2022

topofthewind

Hi all,

I was wondering what will happen to hogget prices this year. With the higher price for lamb on one hand and the higher inputs of fertilizer and meal on the other, it seems hard to know what effect it will have on the market.

Will the overall trend be an increase in breeding sheep or will we see a reduction in numbers?

Any opinions on where hogget prices are headed would be much appreciated. Thanks.

J.O. Farmer

I would think higher input costs is more likely to cause a reduction in breeding numbers than high prices for lamb to encourage an increase especially as high costs are certain to be there next winter but we can't be certain of lamb prices this summer nevermind summer 2023. Overall I would expect numbers to stay the same or drop slightly.

I would expect nice quality hoggetts to be worth as much as ever. Plainer hoggetts a lot will depend on lamb prices and cull prices as we move through the summer and into the breeding sales but they could be hard sold if lads are thinking of reducing numbers.

hopeso

Are there any hoggets coming out yet? I’m after a few, and just wondering what they’re making.

orm0nd

was watching on line to day, cracking hoggetts selling 200 to 225, seemed hard to get above 220 with 1 choice lot making 237

lighter 180 to 200

we need a few , will try donedeal rather than sales in a week or 2

White Clover

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119416820#Comment_119416820

Seem to be slow selling on Done Deal too. Maybe they're asking London for them?

I'm going to buy some soon too. What breed are you looking for?

Jonnyc135

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119417283#Comment_119417283

Got 11 very nice clean Suffolk cheviot cross hogget's the weekend, 190 for 6 and 185 for 5. Bought 10hoggets back in May too at 180, were lovely headed Blueleicester x texel. Prices are not too bad at any of the sales I was at

White Clover

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119417753#Comment_119417753

What weight would they be Jonny?

Jonnyc135

I never weighed the Blue Leicester x Texel when I bought them but weighed them about 3 weeks ago and were ranging from one at 65kg up to one at 88kg but most around 72-80kg. I still think they would not have gained that much since I got them as it was a hard job turning them for shearing which was a good indication to me that they were heavy.

The ones I bought last week haven't weighed them but judging off the ones in the field that were weighed they would look to be similar weights

orm0nd

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119417283#Comment_119417283

Mostly white face rams here so something with a Suffolk X. Suffolk X texel would suit this year as mostly Belclare rams atm.

White Clover

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119419450#Comment_119419450

I'm going to put some more Suffolk back in to my own flock. Do you have any experience of Suffolk X Mule ewes?

kk.man

Was looking in at tullow today;

Ewe lambs stand out, about ten pens topped 200e

Good quality ewe hoggets average 225e

Jimbo789

The difference in price between ewe lambs and hoggets seems to be getting smaller each of the last few years.

orm0nd

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119423008#Comment_119423008

Yes I bought a good few 2 years ago off Donedeal, good mothers plenty of milk and done their lambs well.

must have been young sheep when i bought them as some of them developed into very big sheep, if anything nearly too big

also we found them stubborn to get up the footbath , all bought in are mixed with our own and given a couple of dry runs up the race and that usually trains them

some of these stick on the 4wd and lock up all 4's and it's some job to get them moving

charolais0153

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119423008#Comment_119423008

Suffolk mules;Rolls Royce sheep. Texel on them great to kill or keep

weatherbyfoxer

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119423008#Comment_119423008

Breed them here for 2 years,didn't like them at all,..massive big hungry ewes when they mature,bred some nice lleyn ewe lambs off them doe

White Clover

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119430110#Comment_119430110

What weight were the mature ewes?

weatherbyfoxer

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119431505#Comment_119431505

85-90kg

Western Pomise

Anyone bought or seen any nice Suffolk x hoggetts for sale yet….Haven’t stood in a sale…..are they around the 220 euro?

From what I can see online nice ewe lambs are no dearer than last year to buy anyway.

Jimbo789

Anyone go to the Mayo Mule sale? I heard the hogget averages were up on last year.

AntrimGlens

Mule hogget sale up here was well back the weekend before last. Big entry of nearly 5,000 hoggets only saw a 85% clearance and average prices back £30 head on last years trade to average £163. Plenty of hoggets to do any man for £155/£150.

Mule ewe lamb sale last night saw averages back £18 head on last years average to £114.

kk.man

The price of the hogget has taken a tumble this year but what's worse is expensive ewe lambs last year and this year. One wonders if it's a viable enterise going forward.

Tileman

Yea I did it for a few years when kids were young but switched back to lambing then. Margin was getting very tight but suited workload. Lambing was very easy with being home due to covid lockdown for a few years but we won’t back to office just as I was lambing this year and it made it more difficult.

hard to justify the time off work for lambing with the returns so might switch back to Hoggets for a couple of years again until kids are older and can help if they have an interest.

Jonnyc135

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119521335#Comment_119521335

If you have grass store lambs can be got cheap enough now. Seen a lovely pen of 30 light stores ewe lambs about 6 weeks ago, suffolk Cross more suffolk than Cross (only about 4 with horns), 27kg average going for 65 euro. I bought something similar last year had to give 78 for them and once they got dose minerals and dipped they turned inside out had 60+ kg higgets making 180 quid at mart in Late March.

kk.man

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119521722#Comment_119521722

Yes very hard to justify taking leave around lambing. Plus there is so many yokes like toxo etc going around twords when I was younger. It would cost a small fortune to Vax against all. If you didn't that's the year you would get it.

I did stores for years no keen any longer. Did you see last year the factory put the breaks on in February which I hadn't seen in years.

Bought click extra yesterday 5ltrs 315e... madness.

Jonnyc135

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119521836#Comment_119521836

Yeah got caught with 20 horn ram lambs that I was shed finnishing on meal and had to let them off once 50kg when they done that only got 6.85 in factory which was okay but they definitely tried to pull all down because they knew demand for Easter and Ramadan was all comming in mid April.

They also knew the hogget carryover was way up on previous years so they knew unless they wanted paying 8.5 for hoggets mid April when easter and Ramadan were on then they had to pull all.

Will be interesting see the carryover this year with grass tight especially in the east.

kk.man

https://www.agriland.ie/farming-news/spike-in-hogget-ewe-numbers-in-recent-kill-figures/

Not a good sign at all. Many ppl in these parts have got out of sheep in the last few years, only old lads lambing now.