With autumn calving well underway, dairy stock is back in mart rings across the country once again, with one strong sale taking place in Carnew this week.

The mart based in Co. Wicklow saw more than 80 head of quality stock go up for grabs.

The high quality stock included freshly calved heifers and cows, maiden heifers, and spring calving heifers and cows.

Speaking to Agriland, mart manager and auctioneer, David Quinn, said: "There is very, very strong demand for quality dairy stock.

"There seems to be strong demand for the good quality, well-bred, milky stock."

Carnew dairy sale

The hammer rang to the tune of €3,150 when a September-2021-born cow made her way through the ring.

The Friesian cow calved down in early September, and is expected to produce 9,452kg of milk at 4.34% fat and 3.54% protein in her current lactation.

The cow weighed in at 756kg, and had an Economic Breeding Index (EBI) worth €6, broken into a milk sub-index of €47 and a fertility sub-index of €-19.

She was not the only cow to make more than €3,000 on the day, as a stylish September-2024-born heifer made €3,000 on the dot.

The heifer calved down in the first week of October, and is expected to produce 9,782kg of milk at 4.26% fat and 3.78% protein in her first lactation this year.

She has an EBI of €85, with a milk sub-index of €101 and a fertility sub-index of €-5.

Another September-2024-born heifer also made €3,000 in the ring on the day.

This heifer has an EBI of €52, with a milk sub-index of €61 and a fertility sub-index of €12.

She is due to calve down shortly with high production expected, as her dam produced 10,393kg of milk at 4.30% fat and 3.8% protein in her peak lactation.

Overall, freshly calved cows and heifers averaged just shy of €2,400/head on the day, while stock due to calve down this month averaged just over €2,420/head.

The appetite for spring calved heifers is evidently lower than stock ready for the parlour, as spring calvers averaged just under €1,100/head.

Quinn noted that the demand lay in cows ready for the parlour, stating that spring calvers "are making a shake more than culled cow price, but not a huge amount more".

A consignment of autumn-2025-born pedigree heifers weighing an average of 333kg/head, also went through the ring on the day, making an average of €1,217/head.