The cattle trade in the country’s marts remains steady despite a noticeable increase in buyers around the ring, according to the country’s mart managers.

There has been good demand for beef animals with these lots selling from €1.55-2.86/kg and €1.75-2.60/kg for steers and heifers respectively, these animals are also meeting a steady in factories.

The store cattle trade also remains buoyant with these lots making €1.65-2.70/kg for the forward classes and €1.60-3.11/kg for the lots weighing in the region of 400-500kg.

Weanling bulls and heifers also remain in strong demand and the best of these lots generally made €2.62-3.18/kg, according to the mart managers around the country.

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Trade for all lots on offer in Kilkenny Mart on Thursday remained strong, according to the Mart Auctioneer George Candler, this was despite a large number of lots on offer with 990 cattle passing through the ring.

According to Candler, all the heifers met with a steady trade, while cows also traded well in the Co. Kilkenny venue.

Heifers traded well he said, beef heifers sold from €2.00-2.40/kg while the forward store classes made from €2.00-2.70/kg or €450-700 over.

The lighter store heifers weighing from 300-400kg also met with a strong demand and the hammer fell on these lots from €1.80-2.70/kg.

There has also been a strong trade for cows with the dairy types selling from €1.00-1.70/kg and the continental cull cows making €1.40-2.00/kg.

Despite the success in the heifer ring, over age steers were more difficult to get away, but the quality lots met with a strong trade, added Candler.

According to Candler, beef steers made €1.70-2.50/kg, while the forward steers sold from €1.65-2.65/kg, but the prices achieved depended on the quality of these lots.

The lighter store lots weighing from 300-500kg also met with a firm trade and the hammer fell on these lots from €1.60-2.80/kg.

Mountbellew Mart held its autumn store heifer show sale on Saturday, which was the biggest sale of the year, according to the Mart Manager Marianne Higgins.

According to Higgins, the trade and prices remained steady for all lots, with farmers and shippers very active for all classes of weanlings.

Heifers sold well in the Co. Galway venue, with the forward classes trading from €2.15-2.30/kg, while the lots weighing 400-500kg made €2.01-2.59/kg.

The trade for steers also remained strong, she added, with the forward lots making €2.00-2.26/kg and the lighter lots weighing 400-500kg trading from €2.21-2.59/kg.

According to the Mart Manager, there was strong farmer and exporter demand for the weanlings on offer and the hammer fell on the best of these lots at €2.62-3.18/kg and €2.69-2.73/kg for the bulls and heifers respectively.

There was an improved steer trade in Balla Mart on Saturday, according to the Mart Manger Michael Murphy.

According to Murphy, there were 1,250 cattle on offer, which proved to be the biggest and dearest sale of the year, with cattle €115/head dearer than the same time last year.

Store steers sold from €1.71-2.92/kg, while the heavier lots were also in great demand with these lots trading from €1.55-2.86/kg, added Murphy.

Heifers had also improved in the Co. Mayo venue and these lots were up by €50/head due to the increased presence of buyers, added Murphy.

The store heifers made €1.80-3.11/kg while the heavier lots had also improved with the hammer falling on these lots from €1.75-2.60/kg.

There was also a keen trade around the ring for the 220 cows on offer with the cull lots trading from €1.10-2.87/kg, he said.

The was a good entry of cattle in Macroom Mart on Saturday, according to the Mart Manager John O’Mahony.

According to O’Mahony, the steers on offer sold well, with the early maturing Angus and Hereford types making €2.02-2.36/kg while the better quality continental types sold for €2.09-2.41/kg.

There was also a good demand for heifers, added O’Mahony, and these lots made €2.13-2.27/kg or €220-620 over.

Weanlings also met with strong demand and the best of these lots sold from €2.90-2.92/kg and €2.74-3.00/kg for bulls and heifers respectively.