In pictures: Cashel Mart dispersal sale of high-EBI cows

On Tuesday, February 15, Agriland made the trip down to the Premier county to attend a dairy dispersal sale at Cashel Mart.

Contained within the sale was 100 high-economic breeding index (EBI) cows and heifers from Liam and Bernard Moore’s herd.

Cashel Mart

The mart, which lies in the shadows of the Rock of Cashel, saw a flying trade for this exceptionally good herd of cows.

There was a good number of farmers ringside considering the time of year, but online bidders were also active at the sale.

Enquiries about the cows came from as far as Northern Ireland, but most of the cows were sold to local farmers.

There was a small number that didn’t stay local, finding new homes in counties such as Wicklow, Laois, Galway and Cork.

A 100% clearance was achieved on the day, with an average sale price of €1,821.

Heifers and young cows

The sale started with freshly calved heifers and second lactation cows, which were met with the highest demand.

Value was hard to come by with only two animals in this section selling for less than €1,500.

There was no slow start to this sale with Lot 1: Ashberry Blanche 2187, with an EBI of €214, selling for €1,720.

The prices continued to drive on from there with the top price in this section of the sale going to Lot 21: Ashberry Audrey 2089, with an EBI of €277.

This freshly calved heifer is sired by (Ig) Caheragh Mayson (FR 4532). She is projected to do over 430kg of milk solids and produce over 5,700L in her first lactation.

She also currently has a bull calf being genotyped by an artificial insemination (AI) company. She sold for €2,400.

Lot 21: Ashberry Audrey 2089, with an EBI of €277
Sold for €2,400

Second highest price from this section of the sale went to Lot 36: Ashberry Sew Ivy 2028, achieving €2,360.

This second calver, sired by Searoad Aws Pamela 1 (SEW), has an EBI of €234. She produced 4,272L in her first lactation.

Lot 36: Ashberry Sew Ivy 2028, with an EBI of €234
Sold for €2,360

Below are some more sample prices from the sale, consisting of first and second lactation cows.

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.

Lot 35: Ashberry Fiona 2040,
with an EBI of €233
Sold for €2,180

Older cows

Moving on to some of the older cows within the sale, where prices did not let up.

Top price for this section, and the day, went to Lot 48: Kilvurra Sew Ingrid 1781, now in her third lactation and projected to produce over 550kg of milk solids.

Sired by Clondrohid Black Lightning, she has an EBI of €183 – €107 of which is for fertility. She topped the trade at €2,720.

Lot 48: Kilvurra Sew Ingrid 1781, with an EBI of €183
Sold for €2,720

Second highest price for this section, and on the day, went to Lot 53: Ashberry Tess 1866. In her third lactation, she is projected to produce over 550kg of milk solids.

Sired by (Ig) Ardragold Parker, she has an EBI of €155 and sold for €2,500.

Lot 53: Ashberry Tess 1866, with an EBI of €155
Sold for €2,500

Below are some more sample prices from the sale, consisting of third lactation cows.

Lot 39: Ashberry Kathy 1929,
*with an EBI of €2*06
*Sold for €2,400*

The sale then moved into the final section of the day which consisted of older cows. Below are some more sample prices of fourth and fifth lactation cows.