Despite reduced sailings, Ballyjamesduff Mart saw an improvement in the calf trade this week.
The Co. Cavan mart held its weekly calf sale on Wednesday (May 4) with 107 lots on offer on the day.
Ballyjamesduff
After Wednesday’s sale, Agriland spoke with John Tevlin, mart manager at Ballyjamesduff, to garner some insight into the trade on the day.
He said: “As we enter into May, the numbers at calf sales have started to reduce, but demand for good quality calves has not let up.
“The smaller numbers appeared to help the trade, with a strong farmer presence on the day.
“The sale was predominately made up of Hereford and Angus calves, with continental and Friesian calves present in smaller numbers.”
Starting with the Angus calves, the plainer type calves made upwards from €80, with the top price going to an Angus heifer that made €390.
The majority of the Angus calves made something in the €200-350 range.
The Hereford calves were a similar trade on the day, making from €90 up to €330. Similar to the Angus calves, Hereford stronger-type calves made upwards of €200.
The continental calves that were on offer were made up of Limousin and Charolais-cross calves and made €400-590.
The small number of Friesian calves made from a low of €20, up to a top price of €160 for a stronger-type bull calf.
Northern farmers
John described the calves on offer this week as farmer-type calves, with the majority of the calves purchased by farmers.
Wednesday’s sale also saw a number of farmers from Northern Ireland buying calves, with John stating: “There was a northern element buying calves online; calves in the north appear to have gotten quite dear.
“So we had a number of calves exported to farmers in Northern Ireland.
“Our proximately to the north is a help, that northern farmers are willing to come down to us to purchase calves – these farmers were a good boost to the trade.”