The cattle trade continues to remain steady with similar prices being achieved to the pre-Christmas sales, according to mart managers across the country.
Both beef steers and heifers remain in good demand with the plainer lots making €1.80-1.90/kg while the better quality lots traded from €2.20-3.08/kg.
The store trade also remains buoyant on the back of smaller numbers coming forward, with steers generally making €1.70-2.91/kg and heifers trading at €2.00-2.76/kg.
Cull cows also remain in demand with the best of these lots breaking the €2/kg mark.
Carnew Mart
There were 650 cattle on offer in Carnew Mart on Saturday with prices similar to the pre-Christmas period, according to the Mart Manager David Quinn.
The trade remained strong for forward steers and heifers with the hammer falling on these lots from €700-920 over and €550-850 over respectively.
Store cattle also remained in good demand with continental store steers trading from €500-820 over while the plainer Friesian types made €180-650 over. Store heifers also sold well at €350-720 over.
Dry cows continued to remain steady in the Co. Wicklow venue with the better quality lots making €350-700 over and the plainer lots made €150-500 over.
Roscommon Mart
There was a large entry of quality stock on offer in Roscommon Mart on Friday, according to the Mart Manager, Maura Quigley.
There was an excellent trade for steers with prices improved from the previous week. The hammer fell on the forward classes from €1.83-2.61/kg while the lighter store types made €2.22-2.91/kg, she said.
The heifer trade continues to remain very strong, she added, with a high clearance for these lots. The better quality forward classes made €2.39-3.08/kg while the lighter store heifers made €2.47-2.76/kg.
The number of dry cows on offer had also increased, with improved prices for these lots which sold from €1.49-2.00/kg.
Ennis Mart
There was a very small cattle sale in Ennis Mart on Thursday, with the trade a little easier than before Christmas, according to the Assistant Mart Manager, Pat Doyle.
Doyle said there were fewer heifers on offer, but these lots were a little weaker than the pre-Christmas trade. The heifers on offer generally sold from €2.04-2.50/kg.
Cull cows continued to remain in good demand, and this was the case for the factory fit lots which made €1.81-2.11/kg, while the feeder types made €1.29-1.69/kg.
He also said that there was a good entry of steers on offer, with the trade holding quite steady for these lots.
The factory and forward steer classes made €2.21-2.27/kg while the store lots traded at €2.30-2.64/kg, said Doyle.
Kilkenny Mart
There were 250 cattle on offer in Kilkenny Mart on Thursday, according to the Mart Auctioneer, George Candler.
The trade continues to remain similar to before Christmas with Friesians and Angus being the main breeds on offer with continental animals remaining in short supply, he said.
The forward beef steers traded from €1.80-2.20/kg while the lighter lots (500-600kg) sold from €1.70-2.35/kg, said Candler.
There was also good demand for beef and forward store heifers and the hammer generally fell on these lots from €1.90-2.35/kg, while the lighter store heifers generally made €2.00-2.40/kg.
He also said there was a large entry of cull cows on offer, with 80 of these passing through the ring. The dairy type cull cows traded from €0.75-1.70/kg while the continental culls made €1.35-1.90/kg, he said.