A sale of heifers and steers took place at Mountrath Mart, Co. Laois, on Thursday last (November 23). A large crowd attended the sale that kicked off at 7:30pm.

The mart’s Glen Cooper was delighted with the sale. He said: “There were some lovely continental cattle on sale on the night. There were some nice Belgian Blue cattle in particular.”

In the bullock ring, approximately 177 steers went under the hammer. A clearance rate of 84% was achieved on the night with only 28 steers going unsold.

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 sale price.

In the heifer ring, trade was slow at times. However, approximately 230 heifers went under the hammer. A clearance rate of 80% was achieved on the night, with only a small number going unsold.

Mart trade round up

Mart managers have reported a stronger trade on the back of smaller numbers at various venues across the country. They have also noted an increase in the number of cull cows being presented for sale.

This is extremely evident in dairy-populated areas where farmers have dried-off cull cows. Feed shortages could also be influencing some farmers’ decisions to off-load empty or older cows, as they try to save fodder.

Again, similar to previous weeks, the trade has remained strong for good-quality cattle.

Carnew Mart

Some 815 cattle went under the hammer in Carnew Mart, Co. Wicklow, on Saturday last – an increase of 55 on the previous week.

David Quinn, the mart manager, said that cattle met a firm trade and prices edged upwards for all types – particularly beef and forward stores.

He said: “135 dry cows were on offer and they saw a brisk demand with a full clearance achieved.”

On the day, 85 suckler cows met an excellent trade; older, plainer types proved difficult to sell. Store bullocks made €600-1,040 over, while Friesian steers sold for €160-570 along with their weight. Heifers were reported to trade well; stores made €310-760 over.

Beef cows fetched €360-960 over, while store cows made €450-1,110 over. Quinn said: “60 calves were also on offer and these lots traded between €80 and €445/head.”

In addition, cows with calves at foot traded for €1,100-1,820/head, while in-calf suckler cows made between €900-1,500/head.

Sample calf prices:
  • Continental bulls: €220-400/head;
  • Continental heifers: €160-380/head;
  • Friesian bulls: €70-215/head.

Ennis Mart

A smaller sale took place at Ennis Mart on Thursday last. Numbers were “well-back” in the bullock and heifer rings. However, there was a “huge” increase in the number of cull cows going under the hammer.

Danny Moran said: “Some 350 cull cows were on offer. The mix of the cull cows was half and half – Friesians and coloured cows.”

There was great demand for all types of forward stock in all rings and quality stores were much sought after in the bullock and heifer rings.

Sample bullock prices:
  • Charolais: 447kg – €1,160 or €2.59/kg;
  • Limousin: 482kg – €1,245 or €2.59/kg;
  • Limousin: 630kg – €1,540 or €2.44/kg;
  • Hereford: 665kg – €3,340 or €2.01/kg.

20 aged bulls passed through the ring on Thursday. The best of these was a Limousin bull weighing 1,070kg. He sold for €1,870. In general, they made €1.50-1.65/kg on the day.

Sample heifer prices:
  • Limousin: 370kg – €950 or €2.57/kg;
  • Limousin: 500kg – €1,040 or €2.28/kg;
  • Charolais: 385kg – €1,040 or €2.70/kg;
  • Aberdeen Angus: 545kg – €1,090 or €2.00/kg.