Two price rises in the one day

THERE has been some welcome news for sheep farmers this week, as hogget prices quoted at the factories improved, in line with a tightening of the supply available.

The weekly price gain was the largest since the beginning of the year, fuelled by good demand at factories and marts. Base prices improved by 6 cent/kg (2p/lb) on Monday morning, with all processors quoting 336 cents/kg (120p/lb), while a further increase of 6 cents/kg (2p/lb) was on offer to producers before the end of the day, with the base price increasing to 342 cents/kg (122p/lb), and the usual bonus payments for U grade.

In the marts, there was a stronger trade for hoggets on Monday.