Central Auctions Roscrea, Co. Tipperary, hosted the first fatstock cattle sale of 2023 on Friday, January 6.

The sale featured the Co. Tipperary mart venue’s annual show and sale of forward and finished-type beef heifers and cows. Speaking to Agriland after the event, Central Auctions mart manager Michael Hearty explained that there were over 900 cows and heifers on offer at the annual event.

Commenting on the trade, the Central Auctions mart manager said: “It was a great success with a high clearance rate achieved on the day and a lot of customers in attendance from both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.”

Sample prices from the cow sale:

Hearty commended the farmers who were showing livestock at the event saying “there was a lot of superior quality, fed cattle on offer”.

The sale featured approximately 350 cows and 550 heifers, some of which were purchased for breeding purposes.

Commenting on the heifer sale, Hearty said the trade was “very brisk” with a lot of heifers making over the €3/kg mark.

“The good continental heifers were making €3.20 to €3.30/kg. There was also a lot of good Angus heifers in it and the quality ones all cleared the €3/kg mark.”

The mart manager explained that farmer finishers were active for the store-type heifers and feedlots were buying the Angus and the Hereford-type heifers.

“We had a good few northern customers for the heavier heifers but the southern buyers were very fit too,” he said.

“The Belgian Blue heifers were the top choice for the farmers buying heifers for breeding with up to €5/kg being paid for these and many of them being secured by northern buyers.”

Cow sale

In the cow sale, fleshed, heavy cows were making over €3/kg.

Hearty commented: “There was a brisk demand again in the cow sale with a lot of wholesaler activity and a high number of cows being secured by customers based in Northern Ireland.”

A lot of Friesian cows were making well over the €2/kg mark and the southern buyers were really driving the trade for them forward-type cows.

Outlook

Giving his view on the trade for the coming number of weeks, the Central Auctions mart manager said: “The conversation among farmers is that beef cattle are scarce.

“All factory agents are very active at the marts for cattle.” Hearty believes the restricted supply of finished cattle “was inevitable”.

He outlined that a lot of the farmers feeding 100-150 cattle for the winter in that region “are gone out of the winter finishing business”.

“They couldn’t sustain it. The amount of farmers feeding larger numbers of cattle over the winter has greatly reduced,” he said.

Hearty believes that the price of store cattle will also increase as the prices being paid for finished cattle also increases.

Roscrea Mart hosts its annual fatstock show and sale of heifers and cows on the first Friday every year.

The mart will host a show and sale of weanlings this coming Wednesday (January 11) and a show and sale of bullocks this Friday (January 13).

Selling resumed at Birr Mart yesterday (January 9) with a general cattle sale and a general cattle sale will take place at Nenagh Mart today (January 10). Roscrea also hosts a general sheep sale every Wednesday.