There is never too much dairy stock moving through marts at this time of the year, but the few that are seem to be making relatively strong prices.

Gortatlea Mart in Co. Kerry held a dairy sale in conjunction with its cattle sale this week.

The ring was full and the bids were flowing with dairy stock making up to €2,450/head.

Some of the top sales on the day included:

€2,450 for a 2017-born Friesian cow weighing 785kg with an Economic Breeding Index (EBI) of €71;
€2,290 for a 2021-born Friesian cross weighing 710kg;
€2,230 for a 2021-born Friesian cow weighing 765kg with an EBI of €137;
€2,220 for a 2020-born Friesian cow weighing 700kg;
€2,130 for a 2023-born Friesian cow weighing 725kg.

A number of sales on the day surpassed the €2,000 mark, while lighter and older cows sold between €1,200-€1,600.

Borderway Monthly Dairy Sale

Across the water in the UK, Borderway Mart in Carlisle, Cumbria also hosted its monthly dairy sale during the week.

There was a total of 215 animals up for grabs on the day, with some fierce bidding taking place as attendees came from 13 counties across Scotland and England.

September-2021-born Errolston Hail Sylvia VG85 topped the sale on the day, going under the hammer for £4,200 (€4,900).

The third lactation cow is currently giving 45kg/day, and put out 12,000kg in her second lactation last year.

She stems from the award-winning Errolston Holstein herd based in Scotland.

Meanwhile, Ashberry Rager Lynne 3, who is producing 37kg, topped the heifer sale with a price of £3,800 (€4,434).

When it came to Ayrshire cows, the sale peaked at £3,000 (€3,500) for Halmyre Urr Ladybird 588.

Overall, the sale finished up with an average price of £2,901 (€3,385) paid for Holstein heifers in milk; £2,790 (€3,255) for Holstein cows in milk; and £2,419 (€2,822) for in-calf Holstein heifers.

Ayrshire cows and heifers in milk averaged £2,366 (€2,760) while Montbeliarde in-calf heifers averaged £2,150 (€2,508)