On Wednesday (September 22) Carnew Mart held the online farm sale for the Knockreigh herd of Mr. Tom Furlong of Adamstown, Co. Wexford.
The pedigree herd has been bred using artificial insemination (AI) for generations, with milk recording reports available for buyers to gain some insight into their potential purchases.
There was a total of 130 head on offer at the sale, which included cows in milk, a small number of dry cows, in-calf heifers and spring-born heifer calves.
The herd pre-sale was averaging 7,400kg of milk at 3.98% fat and 3.68% protein and achieving an average of 570kg of milk solids.
Knockreigh herd
Speaking with Eugene Clune, Carnew Mart’s yard manager after the sale, he stated: “The prices achieved reflected the top quality of stock on offer throughout the sale.
“The sale started with spring-calving cows still in milk, which have been scanned back in-calf to the AI sires.
“These cows met a very brisk trade from local farmers and farmers further afield including Tipperary and Northern Ireland.”
Eugene stated: “These cows sold from €1,600 to a top call of €2,120, with the majority selling for between €1,800 and €1,950.”
Some notable prices from the this section of the sale include the following:
- A 2019-born cow carrying her second calf due on February 4, sold for €2,100;
- A cow carrying her third calf due January 24, sold for €2,120;
- A fourth-calver due January 24, sold for €1,940.
After the in-calf cows in milk, the cows in-milk but not in-calf were sold. According to Eugene, cows in this is section of the sale made from €900 for a sixth-calver to €1,500 for a first calver.
The majority of animals in this section of the sale sold for between €1,050 and €1,250.
Heifers
Moving to the heifers and starting with the in-calf heifers due to calf in spring 2022.
According to Eugene: “The in-calf heifers had a lifetime of breeding behind them and were of the highest quality.
“The heifers were met with a flying trade selling from €1,450 to €1,900, with most animals in this section of the sale selling for between €1,600 and €1,800.”
The final section of sale was the spring-born heifers, again this section of the sale included some top-quality stock.
“All the calves were AI bred with economic breeding index (EBI) ranging from €190 to €260. The 27 heifer calves on offer averaged almost €800, with the top call of €860 achieved on two occasions,” Eugene concluded.