Carnew Mart held its fortnightly dairy sale on Thursday (May 12), with this week’s sale consisting mainly of cows in milk.
Although cows in-milk made up the majority of the lots on offer, there was also a number of springers, dry cows and heifer calves for sale.
Carnew dairy sale
The peak milk measures introduced this year led to a weakened trade, with many farmers looking to avoid being hit with penalties.
But with the recent announcement by Glanbia, that no penalties will be applied to milk this year, it seems farmers are now looking to boost numbers.
There was a good number of farmers present at Carnew Mart, and young cows and heifers in-milk were the highest in demand.
It was also evident that farmers were looking to buy quality stock, with cows and heifers that had milk recording data achieving the best prices.
The first and second-lactation cows were making from €1,300 to €1,940, while the older cows on offer made from €1,100 to €1,400.
The springing lots on offer made €1,100 to €1,300, with the small number of heifer calves on offer making up €80.
In pictures
The top price on the day was €1,940 and was achieved by a second-lactation cow (pictured below), calved since April 30.
The second-highest price went to another second-lactation cow (pictured below) from the same herd. Calved since April 29, she sold for €1,800.
The third-highest price went to a Seagull-Bay MVP-ET-sired heifer, calved since April 19, and milking 26L. She has an economic breeding index (EBI) of €109 and her dam produced 9,845L at 4.29% fat and 3.34% protein in her third lactation.
She sold for €1,780.
Some more sample prices from the sale, consisting of first and second-lactation cows can be seen in the pictures below.
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.
Speaking to Agriland after the sale, mart manager David Quinn said: “We saw a weakening in the trade for dairy stock back in March, but that has changed now.
“The Glanbia announcement removing peak restriction for this year, has led to an increased demand for dairy cows in milk.”
Continuing, he said: “There is now a shortage of dairy cows for sale, with a number of farmers looking to buy 10 to 12 cows – but the numbers aren’t there.”