Ballymahon Mart’s weekly cattle sale took place on Thursday last, July 11. The mart manager John O’Hanlon outlined that the number of cattle on offer had increased in comparison to last week’s sale.
“We had a reasonable amount of cattle compared to last week. We only had 50 head of cattle here last week, but we had 156 here today.
“That has a lot to do with the weather and cutting silage and hay, and there has been a lot of fodder saved. We are probably slightly ahead on numbers compared to this time last year, although last week was the smallest sale we had in years.
“I would imagine we had a lot of our summer cattle sold in the spring, when the trade was very good; however, the trade is stable,” he added.
Some 156 animals went under the hammer at the Longford-based venue and a good clearance rate was achieved. Bullocks, heifers, weanlings, cull cows and cows with calves at foot were all on offer on the day.
55 bullocks passed through the ring and these lots sold for €850-1,450/head. They were dominated by suckler-bred stock, with a number of Aberdeen Angus and Hereford bullocks on offer.
Steers weighing between 300-400kg sold for €850-985/head or to a top call of €2.49/kg. Looking at the 400-500kg category, bullocks sold for €825-1,270/head or for a top price of €2.91/kg, while 500-600kg bullocks made €870-1,350/head or €1.68-2.54/kg.
Only a handful of beef bullocks were on offer, with 800-845kg steers selling for €1,440-1,450/head.
Some 63 heifers passed through the ring on Thursday and again a good clearance rate was recorded. 300-400kg heifers made €650-1,010/head, while 400-500kg lots sold for €770-1,080/head.
The 500-600kg bracket heifers sold in the range of €950-1,245/head. However, the heavier lots on sale – although only a small number were presented – were a difficult trade.
The top price in the suckler section went to a Simmental cow and her bull calf at foot; she was also running with a Charolais bull before sale. The pair went under the hammer for €1,650/unit.
The five other pairings sold for €1,100-1,430/unit.
A number of weanlings also went under the hammer – six heifers and 17 bulls. The heifers weighed between 265kg and 335kg and sold for €550-845/head.
The bulls made from €460-1,400/head. The top price went to a Charolais bull weighing 405kg; he sold for €2.56/kg.