On Thursday (September 29) Bandon Mart hosted a dairy sale with over 100 heifers on offer.
The sale contained 55 in-calf heifers, all due in January and February 2023, 17 maiden heifers and 33 heifer calves.
Speaking to Agriland after the sale, Bandon’s mart manager Sean Dennehy said: “All sections of the sale were met with a strong trade, with almost a full clearance achieved.
“We had a very good run in the calves, with a top price of €670 achieved for some very well done stock.”
Dairy sale
The in-calf heifers attracted the most attention at the sale and saw the highest price of the day achieved.
Top price in the in-calf heifer section went to Lot 1, a February 2020-born Friesian heifer with an economic breeding index (EBI) of €125.
She sold in calf to an Angus sire, due in January, for €1,680.
Top price of the 2021-born heifers was €1,500 and was achieved on two occasions, by Lots 12 and 29.
Lot 12 is a January 2021-born Friesian-cross heifer with an EBI of €203. She sold in calf, due on January 20.
Lot 29 was a February 2021-born Friesian heifer with an EBI of €199. She also sold in-calf due February 19, to Hilltown Widget SRM.
Third-highest price in the sale went to another February-born in-calf heifer with an EBI of €199, sold in due February 22, to Hilltown Fable SRM.
The majority of the in-calf heifers made between €1,150 and €1,350, with Sean noting that heifers with good EBIs and records achieved the highest prices.
Heifer calves
The majority of the maiden heifers sold from €850 to €880, with a top price of €1,000 achieved by two Friesian heifers.
The heifer calves on offer were met by a strong demand, with all the calves born between late-January and early April 2022.
The calves were sold in groups of three with Lots 207, 208 and 209 achieving the top price from the sale.
This group of Friesian heifer calves, all born in late January and early February 2022, with EBI’s of €177, €174 and €163 respectively, sold for €670.
The second-highest price for the Friesian heifer calves went to Lots 216, 217 and 218, the calves in this group were born in mid-February 2022.
These heifer calves sold for €620 and had EBIs of €195, €193 and €187 respectively – the majority of the lots sold for between €550 and €600.
Bandon Mart has another dairy sale coming up on October 13.