LMC reports strong market for lamb, despite challenging spring

FOLLOWING a wet and challenging spring, the 2026 lamb crop is making its way to the market with strong entries of lambs passing through sales rings and meeting firm demand, according to the Livestock and Meat Commission (LMC).

Butcher type lambs reached £10/kg, on 22 April 2026 at Ballymena mart with a sale average of £9.80p/kg for 390 lambs. During the corresponding sale of 2025, a sale entry less than half the size (187 head), sold to an average of £7.25/p/kg with quality lambs topping at £7.86/kg.

Comparative to previous years, the Commission outlined that sheep markets across NI, GB and ROI remain strong.  Locally, the larger hogget carryover saw NI hogget throughput during January to March total 114,389 head, 37.8% (31,358 head) ahead of levels processed during the corresponding 13-week period of 2025 (83,031 head).

The trade in NI peaked at the end of March when hoggets and spring lambs reached almost £200 per head in plants, while cull stock exceeded £350 in local marts. Since then, prices have softened across local marts. Base quotes received by LMC from two major plants on 6 May for R3 grade hoggets ranged from 790-800p/kg, with R3 lamb quotes in the region of 840-860p/kg to 21kg.

In GB and ROI the hogget and ewe trade also peaked at the end of March as Easter production coincided with the end of Ramadan. Hogget prices have since softened but trade for lambs and cull sheep remains at a record high.

Insight from LMC suggests that producers are availing of strong market prices with cull stock having been offloaded from local farms in recent weeks following weaning. This is in part response to difficult weather conditions which have affected turn out periods this spring. Moreover, high fuel and fertiliser prices are expected to impact forage supplies next winter.