As the cases of Covid-19 have risen dramatically in recent days, many marts decided this week to delay their reopenings for 2021 as a precautionary measure.

Carnaross Mart is the latest to confirm that it will not be reopening as planned on Monday, January 11. Instead, the first cattle sale has been rescheduled for Monday, January 18.

Speaking to Agriland, the mart’s manager, Padraig McElroy stated:

Due to the rising Covid-19 cases, we felt that it was safer to postpone the reopening for a week. We always want to ensure that our staff and customers’ safety is a priority.

Ballybay Mart confirmed it will be back in action tomorrow (January 9), as it hosts its first cattle sale of 2021, beginning at 11:00am.

Baltinglass Mart

Earlier this week, it was confirmed that Baltinglass Mart also made the decision to postpone this Saturday’s sheep sale due to rising Covid-19 cases.

Speaking to AgriLand, the mart manager of Baltinglass Mart, Tom Coleman, stated that due to rising Covid-19 cases in the area, the best thing to do was to postpone this Saturday’s sale.

However, he wasn’t able to confirm whether the Wicklow-based mart would be back in action next week, stating that they are hopeful of running both cattle and sheep sales as normal next week on Wednesday, January 13, and Saturday, January 16, respectively.

Of the cattle sales that were held across the country this week, numbers entered were reported to be low. It seems farmers are taking extra measures to stay safe during these challenging times.