A man I knew who worked on the buildings used to say, when things were not going well: “Dig deep, throw well back, and say nothing.”

With factory quotes for lamb up another 40c/kg yesterday their representatives, in varying degrees appear to have adopted the same attitude.

In the ‘dig deep and throw well back’ category are Kildare Chilling and Dawn Ballyhaunis, both of whom rose their quotes for lamb by that 40c/kg to €6.90+10c/kg.

In the ‘say nothing’ division are Kepak Athleague and the two ICM plants, who again offered no quotes.

New Ross auctioneer Jim Bushe’s observation that “the supply of lamb is not becoming more plentiful even with the price rise” sums up the quandary for the factories: as long as the factories can hold their markets, any fit sheep in the system will see increasing competition as we head to Christmas.

Kevin Comiskey, the IFA’s sheep vice-chairman agrees that the scarcity is good for all sheep farmers — “that’s everyone, the man with the fat lambs to the lad with the stores”.

However, he cautioned: “Every shilling that farmers are getting from the factories is needed, especially for those who are feeding with meal up €60/t on 2020.”

As always it’s a numbers game with Department figures showing the national sheep kill to be back around 5pc or 119,940 to November 1, compared with 2020.

The kill for the week itself stood at 46,976 as against 61,423 for the same week last year, indicating that supplies could well tighten even further as we approach the end of the year.

What would that do for prices? Sean McNamara of the ICSA, who told me a month ago that “€7 will happen”, was yesterday predicting that “factory lambs could yet be worth €200”.

The reality is that while numbers being processed are back it’s the demand in the marketplace for sheepmeat that is making those reduced numbers so valuable.

On the mart front prices are also on the way up, with stores up €5-10/hd at both Kilkenny and Ennis yesterday while factory and butcher types were better by €3-8/hd and more where sales were smaller.

Supplies are so tight, some wholesalers and butchers are having difficulty sourcing lamb from factories as processors concentrate on their bigger customers.

Understanding the market the factories sell into is something farmers and the farm organisations have long been very poor at, preferring instead to concentrate on the immediate returns to their members, which is understandable.

A closer liaison with Bord Bia on the subject would be useful to all sides.

Kevin Comiskey was disappointed during a recent visit to Poland that the restaurant he ate in served only New Zealand lamb.

“In this age of climate change surely Bord Bia and the factories can get in there on the distance differential alone?” he said. “Dublin to Warsaw by road is roughly 1,830km while Christchurch to Warsaw is almost 18,000km by air.”

Around the marts

Kilkenny

Numbers yesterday were back to just 410, with a top call on the butchers’ side of €164/hd for ten 55kg lambs off a base of €148/hd.

Factory lambs prices ranged from €120-148/hd or €2.80-3.11/kg. With a full clearance in the offing the men after the stores got well stuck in, pushing prices to a top of €3.46/kg in a range than spanned €90-121/hd.

Cull ewes sold from €60-158/hd as they too were all cleared.

Ennis

There were 600 presented, with prices up €5/hd, but Gerry Finnerty is seeing “more store types than fleshed sheep”.

That said, there was no slackening in demand, with a 100pc clearance. Among the butcher-type lambs, €3/kg was almost the minimum, with twelve 52.5/kgs making €158/hd, six at 50kgs stealing in at €165/hd and a further six at 53.5kg clicking €167/hd.

On the store side the better lamb made up to €3.37/kg, with eleven at 38kg averaging €128/hd followed by ten at 56.5/kg at €123, with ten at 37.5kg making €125/hd.

Cull ewes sold to a top of €141/hd.

Carnew

A fine sale with 2,641 on offer and all classes up by €5-10/hd, and a record price for November for heavy lambs set when 55kgs made €161/hd.

Price spreads were: lambs over 50kg €153-161/hd; 45-49kg €133-154/hd; and 40-44kgs €110-133/hd.

35-39kgs sold from €110-133/hd, with lambs under 35kg making €90-135/hd.

Heavy cull ewes made €130-175/hd, with feeders €80-135/hd. Breeding rams ranged from €130-330/hd.

Mountbellew

Numbers here also continued strong, with more stag and ewe lambs on offer.

The lambs included six 59kg ewes at €164/hd, five 40kg ram lambs at €109/hd and five 45kg ewe lambs at €133/hd.

Ten 35.2kg ewe lambs sold for €100/hd, with ten 32.9kg ram lambs averaging €86/hd, while two wethers at 36.5kg made €98/hd.

Despite bigger numbers trade for stags was improved at €90-156/hd while ewe hoggets sold from €120-200/hd.

Dowra

Numbers were back on the previous week but  prices ringside rose by €2-5/hd.

Fourteen 53kg lambs made €162.50/hd, six 50kg lambs made €159/hd and twenty-eight averaging 51kg made €155.50/hd.

Under 50kg the standout performers included twenty-five 49kg lambs at €154.50/hd, thirty-two 47.5kgs at €147 and sixteen at 45kg that averaged €142.50/hd.

It’s clear that if you’ve got good quality, €3/kg is the minimum base off which you should be operating.

Blessington

With demand strong, fat lambs rose by €6-8/hd, meaning heavy lambs sold from €150-156/hd while factory types made €132-150/hd.

On the store side those over 40kg sold from €120-132/hd, with those from 40-49kg making €120-132/hd.

Among the lighter stores 35-39kgs sold from €106-121/hd, with lighter lambs €66-99/hd.

Fat ewes sold from €140-182/hd, while lighter types ranged from €82-132/hd.