The first weekly cattle sale of 2022 is set to get underway at Cavan Mart today, Friday, January 21.

The new year brings new changes at Cavan Mart; after over 10 years of service, Gerry Murray has taken a step back from his role as mart manager.

The management role will be filled by the current chairperson of Poles Co-op and local dairy farmer, David Reilly.

David will be assisted in his role of managing the mart with the support of Jimmy Lyons – who is no stranger to the weekly sale.- and Kevin Reilly/Tighe, who is a new member of the team and “will bring a wealth of new ideas” according to David.

The board of management at Poles Co-op will also be on hand to support the new management to grow and develop the co-op-owned livestock sales.

Speaking to Agriland, David outlined: “There is huge support from the Poles Co-op shareholders and farmers in the local community to continue to develop and grow the weekly cattle sale at Cavan Mart. People want a mart in Cavan town and want to ensure its viability into the future.”

Cavan Mart hosts a sale of all types of cattle every Friday morning at 11:30a.m. Concluding, David outlined that “the yard will be open from 8:00a.m sharp”.

Online bidding is also available to farmers through the MartEye app.

Expanding operations outside Cavan town

Cavan Mart is owned by Poles Co-op, which is currently in the process of expanding its operations at its site on the Dublin Road outside Cavan town.

Poles Co-op recently commenced work on site preparation in order to construct an additional storage shed, in its yard, with a floor area of 14,327ft2.

However, before the shed can be constructed, the site must be cleared and this first phase of the development will see a total of 20,000m3 of clay being removed.

The dig – which is nearing completion – and site preparation is being carried out by Cavan agricultural contracting firm, Joe Brady Contractors.

According to a co-op spokesperson, the additional yard space “is necessary to meet the demands of a steadily growing customer base”.