Ballyjamesduff Mart: Top price of €2,600 achieved by cow and calf pairing

Ballyjamesduff Mart’s weekly cattle sale took place on Tuesday last (February 13). A mixture of farmers, feedlot buyers and exporters competed for cattle at the mart.

The manager John Tevlin was very happy with the sale and noted that numbers were high for the time of year.

He said: “There was close to 1,000 animals in the yard and we had the five rings running simultaneously. We have the capacity in the lairage and we have great export facilities here also.

“All rings were very busy and there was a great buzz about the place. There was strong interest from all customers, but the farmers and feedlot buyers kept the exporters at bay,” John explained.

John also explained that some optimism still surrounds the suckler industry in Ireland.

“There is still confidence among farmers for suckler animals – especially for the quality types. When people are still willing to pay €2,600 for suckler cows, there is still some optimism out there.”

Weanlings

In the weanling ring, 60 heifers and 95 bulls were on offer. A clearance rate of 84% was achieved in this ring and 25 animals failed to find new homes. Looking at prices achieved on the day, weanlings sold for €430-1,240/head.

Click on a thumbnail in the gallery (below) to open up a full-size image; once opened you can scroll sideways to see the next picture. Refer to each caption to see details of each lot, including the sale price.

Heifers

In the heifer ring, the trade was brisk for the quality lots on offer. A total of 228 heifers went under the hammer. A clearance rate of 83% was achieved on the day, with 38 animals going unsold. Generally speaking, heifers traded for €855-1,650/head.

Bullocks

157 bullocks also went under the hammer and a 82% clearance rate was recorded on the day. The trade was brisk from start to finish and good demand was evident around the ring.

Top-quality bullocks traded for €1,540-1,780/head, while plainer types – originating from the dairy herd – sold for €710/head and up.

Special in-calf heifer sale

A special sale of in-calf heifers also took place on the day. These lots were all in-calf to a 5-star, purebred Limousin bull and are reportedly due in March, April or May.

A good clearance rate was achieved with only a handful failing to find new homes. These heifers traded for €1,370-1,900/head.

Cows

In the dry cow ring, trade was reported as brisk and good-quality cows were in demand. Generally speaking, these lots sold for €500-1,760/head. A Limousin cow – weighing 800kg – achieved the top price of €1,760 on the day.

A number of dairy cows also passed through the ring. These lots traded for €750-1,510/head. In addition, a number of cows with calves at foot also went under the hammer.

A top price of €2,600 was achieved by an August-2012 born, Belgian Blue cow and her Charolais calf. In general, these lots traded for €1,400-2,600/head.