Aisling O’Mahony of Sheep Ireland previews its upcoming Elite €uroStar Multi-Breed Ram Sale, set to feature over 650 rams across 16 different breeds.
The Sheep Ireland Elite €uroStar Multi-Breed Ram Sale will take place on Saturday, August 23rd, 2025, in Kilkenny Mart, Co. Kilkenny.
The sale is predicted to boast over 650 rams – all meeting the elite level of entry criteria required. All rams will be Sheep Improvement Scheme (SIS) eligible, DNA parentage verified and five stars on the Replacement and/or Terminal Index.
Only the most engaged performance recording flocks are eligible to enter (DQI greater than 85%). This provides increased confidence to potential purchasers as, if they come to the sale, they will find a ram that meets expectations and increases the profitability of their flock.
All breeders entering the sale have genetically linked flocks, a crucial aspect for providing accurate genetic evaluations as it allows for comparison between flocks.
Breeds and viewing
Sheep Ireland’s €urostar Multi-Breed Ram sale is Ireland’s largest catalogued ram sale, with over 650 ram entries received across 16 different breeds, offering an outstanding selection to prospective purchasers.
Once again, the largest entry per breed is the Texels with 220 rams, followed by the Charollais with 180, and the Suffolks with 130.
More and more commercial farmers are demanding top-quality, physically correct rams with excellent breeding values (€uro-Stars) to back them up, and this is reflected in the previous sales success. All rams will be physically inspected at intake, providing online buyers peace of mind. Online bidding is available through ‘Martbids’, it is recommended to register in advance of the sale with Kilkenny Mart.
Viewing of rams will be available from 9am on the 23rd of August, with the sale expected to commence at 10.30am. There will be three rings selling at once. The sale running order will be outlined in the final sale catalogue which is expected to be published on August 18th. A provisional sales catalogue is now available on the Sheep Ireland website.
The importance of performance recording
Since the start of Sheep Ireland, the number of pedigree breeders performance recording has increased year on year. Additionally, the number of commercial farmers searching for €uro-Star rated rams is increasing each year.
All this bodes well for the sheep industry, and Sheep Ireland intends to keep this positive trend on the rise for next year. These results are representative of the constant work of the breeders, societies, and technicians involved in the genetic evaluations, and the trust of commercial farmers in the LambPlus programme adoption.
Again, this year, performance-recorded rams with a genomic evaluation are in extra demand due to the Sheep Improvement Scheme (SIS) Genotyped Ram Task. Lowland flocks that choose this task must select a ram that is 4 or 5 Star on the Replacement or Terminal Index based on a genomic evaluation and be a scrapie Type 1,2 or 3. Hill flocks can also choose the lowland option. All rams in the Multi-Breed €uroStar sale will meet this criteria, allowing plenty of options for breeders when completing the ram purchase task.
Making genetic gains – using data this ram sale season
David Coen of Sheep Ireland recently joined Ciaran Lynch on an episode of the OviCast podcast to discuss how genetic information can help farmers make more informed breeding decisions.
Listen in below:
Find out more about the Sheep Ireland Elite €uroStar Multi-Breed Ram Sale here.