There was a large sale of cattle at Balla Mart, Co. Mayo, on Saturday, October 21, with over 1,200 cattle on offer.
According to mart management, good quality stores “got good buying as farmers were out in force along with buyers from all over Ireland and the north for the springers and breeding heifers especially”.
Bullocks in the 300-400kg weight category sold for an average price of €2.92/kg. Store bullocks in the 400-500kg weight category averaged €2.88/kg.
Heavier bullocks weighing over the 500kg mark averaged €2.84/kg. Quality heavy bullocks weighing over 700kg were making from €1,250-1,580 with their weight.
The best of the heavy bullocks were purchased by factory buyers from Northern Ireland.
Sales at Balla Mart
A Belgian Blue-cross bullock weighing 730kg sold for €2,320 or €3.16/kg while a lighter example weighing 495kg made €1,630 or €3.29/kg for a Swinford farmer.
There were over 500 lots included in the heifer sale. Breeding stock were described as “selling very well with prices ranging from €3,000-4,900.
Lighter store heifers weighing from 300–400kg averaged €2.88/kg. Heifers weighing from 400-500kg sold for over €2.95/kg, while heifers over 500kg averaged €3.30/kg.
There were some fine store heifers on offer and the top store heifers made from €2.80-3.50/kg.
A Limousin-cross heifer weighing 360kg born March 2023, made €1,260 or €3.50/kg sold by a farmer from Kilboyle, Castlebar.
One two-year-old Belgian Blue-cross heifer weighing 435kg made €4,900 or €7.97/kg, selling to an online buyer from Co. Derry.
Another Belgian Blue weighing 630kg made €4,350 or €6.90/kg and a 640kg heifer made €4,000 or €6.25/kg.
These were only a few examples of the many heifers that made over the €4.00/kg price mark.
In the dry cow sale there were just over 180 lots. There was a 965kg Limousin-cross dry cow that made €2,370 or €2.46/kg for a farmer from Balla.
There was a special sale of 24 in-calf heifers with the top price of €3,220 in this sale going to a February-2021-born heifer sold with an expected calving date of January 2024.
In the suckler sale, a March-2021-born cow sold for €3,040.
Balla Mart is set to host another special sale of 15 in-calf heifers next Saturday, October 29. These heifers are due to calve to a pedigree Limousin bull from December 1 onwards to the end of December.
Another farmer from Claremorris will have 10 five-star red Limousin first-calf heifers due from December 20 to mid-January to the five-star Limousin bulls Ivor and Marco.