Blessington Mart – Numbers ease as weather continues to hold

On Thursday (June 17) Agriland made the trip down to Co. Wicklow, to observe the trade at Blessington Mart, as it held its weekly calf and cattle sale.

With the calving season now long over on most spring-calving dairy farms, and most farms now focused on breeding and making first-cut silage, numbers were smaller in the calf sale compared to previous weeks.

Commenting on the sale, the mart’s manager John Doyle said: ”The numbers were back on previous weeks, with the good weather and time of year, meaning most farmers in this area are busy.

”With many farmers in the local area finishing first-cut silage and some beginning this year’s shearing, while the good weather holds.”

Calves at Blessington Mart

The number of calves present was small, with a total of six present for sale on the day, made up of five Hereford-cross calves and one Friesian bull.

The two May-born Hereford heifer calves present made €235 and €280, with the Friesian and Hereford bulls making from €75 to €185.

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 hammer price.

Cattle sales

Similar to the calves, cattle numbers at Blessington Mart were small and down on the previous weeks, but buyers ringside and online were willing to pay for the quality of stock that was present.

Starting with the dairy cows – there were four Friesian and Jersey-cross cows present, with prices ranging from €600 to €1,100.

Sample prices:

• A Jersey-cross cow weighing 520kg made €710, or €1.37/kg;
• A Jersey-cross cow weighing 418kg made €600, or €1.44/kg;
• A Friesian cow weighing 712kg made €1,100, or €1.55/kg;
• A Friesian cow weighing 614kg made €870, or €1.42/kg.

Heifers

Moving to the heifers, there were a number of 2020-born Limousin heifers present and also a smaller number of Charolais heifers, also born in 2020.

They made from €640 for a Charolais heifer to €890 for a Limousin heifer – pictured below.

Sample prices:

• An April 2020-born Limousin heifer weighing 378kg made €850, or €2.25/kg;
• An April 2020-born Limousin heifer weighing 396kg made €890, or €2.25/kg;
• An April 2020-born Charolais heifer weighing 318kg made €640, or €2.01/kg.

Bulls and bullocks

Bulls and bullocks made up the majority of the entries on offer, with a mix of late 2019 and early 2020 animals present.

The majority of the cattle on offer were Limousin and Charolais, with a smaller number of Angus and Hereford cattle also present.

Sample prices:

• A Hereford bullock weighing 352kg sold for €750, or €2.13/kg;
• Two Angus-cross bullocks weighing 362kg made €840 each, or €2.32/kg;
• A Limousin bull weighing 468kg sold for €1,150, or €2.46/kg;
• A Charolais bull weighing 366kg sold for €870, or €2.37/kg;
• An Angus-cross bull weighing 264kg made €660, or €2.50/kg.