This week saw a decline in the numbers entered at Ballyjamesduff Mart’s weekly calf sale, which took place on Wednesday (November 17).

Also on Wednesday, Ballyjamesduff held its weekly dairy and cull cow sales.

Speaking to Agriland after the sale, Ballyjamesduff Mart manager John Tevlin noted that although numbers were back, there was still a good appetite among buyers and value was hard to come by.

Ballyjamesduff calf sale

Starting with the calf sale, Tevlin noted that it was smaller than previous weeks, but demand for quality calves remained high.

The calf sale was made up of mainly Limousin crosses (LMX), Hereford crosses (HEX) and Friesian bull calves.

LMX calves sold from €270 to €350. The HEX calves on offer at the sale sold from €250 to €290, with Friesian bulls selling from €70 to €105.

Tevlin reminded farmers that the grace period for TB testing has ended as of September 1, and that calves older than 42 days must be tested before being presented for sale at marts.

He noted that there has been some confusion among farmers, with a number of farmers arriving at the mart in recent weeks with calves that are not eligible for sale.

Tevlin stated: “Many farmers were very happy with the grace period, as they could get better prices for their calves; it was particularly beneficial to smaller farmers.

“But any calf older than 42 days must now be tested before they can be sold.”

Dairy Sale

The dairy sale had a total of 35 entries, consisting of freshly calved cows, spring-calving heifers and spring calvers still in milk.

Tevlin noted that freshly calved cows were in highest demand at Wednesday’s sale, with a top price of €1,560 achieved for this portion of the sale.

The spring-calving cows and heifers sold from €1,280, to €1,410 for a heifer due in the spring.

Cull cows

The last section of Wednesday’s sale was cull cows, with 120 presented for sale. There was a mix of suckler-bred cows and dairy cows on offer.

Top price of the day was €2,360 for a 2016-born Simmental cow weighing 1,075kg. Second highest price of the day went to a Charolais cow, also weighing 1,075kg, who sold for €2,320.

The dairy cows present at the sale consisted of mainly Friesian cows fresh from the parlour and sold from €30-under, to €500-over their weight.