Feedlots buyers are beginning to make their presence felt around the sales ring with a noticeable increase in forward store cattle purchases in recent days.

According Mid Tipp Mart’s Martin Ryan, Monday’s sale saw the return of feedlot buyers who were keen to purchase forward stores fitting within their specifications.

The Mart Manager said the feedlot buyers were particularly keen to purchase Angus and Hereford heifers weighing 470kg and 500kg steers and were willing to pay €2.00-2.05/kg for these lots.

Monday’s sale in Mid Tipp, he said, was one of the largest heifer sales in a number of years, with prices up across a number of weight ranges.

Looking at prices, continental heifers weighing 300-400kg sold for an average price of €2.27/kg, while the plainer Angus and Hereford types made €1.92/kg.

Heavier continental heifers weighing 500-600kg made an average price of €2.08/kg and the early maturing lots traded at €1.84/kg.

Ryan also said good quality continental cattle continued to meet a good trade with the best of the continental steers selling from €2.30-2.56/kg.

Sample steer prices:
  • Limousin: 562kg – €1,440 or €2.56/kg
  • Limousin: 680kg – €1,430 or €2.10/kg
  • Limousin: 582kg – €1,420 or €2.44/kg
  • Limousin: 570kg – €1,370 or €2.40/kg
  • Limousin: 575kg – €1,340 or €2.33/kg
  • Charolais: 550kg – €1,335 or €2.43/kg

Friesian cattle meet a tougher trade in Macroom

Plain Friesian type cattle continued to meet a tougher trade in Macroom Mart on Saturday, according to the Mart Manager John O’Mahony.

According to O’Mahony, Friesian store prices are back by about €100/compared to the spring with the majority of lots weighing 500kg selling for €800 or €1.70-1.80/kg on Saturday, similar lots would have made €900 earlier in the year.

Along with a  tougher trade for the plain store type cattle, O’Mahony also said that sale sizes are beginning to increase as summer grazers begin to off-load stock in advance of the winter.

On Saturday, he said, over 900 cattle passed through the ring, almost 300 more than the week before.

But, despite the increase in numbers, O’Mahony said that quality continue to remain in demand with continental bulls selling from €295-655 over, while continental heifers traded from €235-590 over.

However, he said that the export demand for top quality weanlings has slipped compared to previous years, with weanling bulls now trading from €280-635 over and heifers made €275-580 over.

Bigger sale of cattle in Balla Mart

Balla Mart held its biggest sale of cattle so far this year with over 1,000 cattle passing through the ring on Saturday.

According to the Mart’s Anthony Murphy, there was a good trade for quality lots but plainer cattle were harder to sell.

Store steers weighing 450kg and less made from €600-860 over or €1.56-2.86/kg, while the heavy steers on offer traded from €1.40-2.56/kg.

Sample steer prices:
  • Simmental: 295kg – €720 or €2.44/kg
  • Charolais: 385kg – €1,075 or €2.79/kg
  • Limousin: 425kg – €1,285 or €3.02/kg
  • Charolais: 680kg – €1,480 or €2.16/kg
  • Simmental: 790kg – €1,650 or €2.09/kg

In the heifers, he said, there was some plainer lots on offer this week with store heifers trading from €1.58-2.77/kg while the forward classes sold from €1.57-2.51/kg.

Murphy also said there were 120 cows on offer on Saturday. The top price of €1,750 was paid for an eight year old Charolais cow with Charolais bull calf at foot and dry cows sold from €1.01-2.07/kg.