A smaller entry of sheep at Brecon Livestock Market still produced a strong trade this week despite difficult weather conditions.

McCartneys reported a quality entry of 377 finished hoggets along with 290 cull ewes and rams at sales on Tuesday, March 10, with numbers affected by lying snow and poor road conditions.

However, trade remained firm throughout the sale, leaving a standard quality quotation (SQQ) of 386ppk kilo and an overall average of 377.4ppk.

Auctioneers said the hogget trade was noticeably sharper compared with the previous week.

Top prices reached 406ppk, with plenty of sheep selling between 390ppk and 405ppk.

Heavy hoggets saw the biggest improvement in price, with 53kg hoggets from WL & AC Jones & Son selling for 370ppk, while many pens made £192 or more.

Auctioneers said more finished hoggets are “desperately needed weekly in order to satisfy demand.”

Trade for cull sheep also proved strong, with the quality entry of almost 300 animals selling to advantage.

The best cull sheep made £170 or more, while hill ewes reached a top price of £162.50. Leaner and plainer types sold between £80 and £110, while cull rams topped at £198.

The weekly primestock sheep sale at Brecon takes place every Tuesday, with weighing from 7am and the sale starting at 9:30am.

The next store lamb sale will be held on Tuesday, March 24, followed by a store cattle sale on Friday, March 27.