Clones Livestock Mart, Co. Monaghan, hosted its weekly general cattle sale on Thursday (August 17) with a range of cattle on offer from reared calves to heavy steers, heifers and cows.
Speaking to Agriland after the sale, Clones Mart manager Sean Cadded said: “We had over 120 cattle on offer here at the Thursday general cattle sale.”
Commenting on the trade, the mart manager said: “The trade has remained steady overall last week. Approximately 90% of the cattle on offer last week were dairy-bred cattle.”
Sample prices from the sale at Clones:
“The trade for suckler-bred store cattle has probably been a bit easier but overall, the trade remained relatively steady last week,” he added.
The Clones mart manager said: “Over the whole summer months we have had a good flow of cattle at the weekly sales with the exception of two Thursdays when good weather reduced the number of cattle on offer as there was a lot of farm work on.”
Clones Mart hosts a general cattle sale every Thursday commencing at 11:30a.m with the yard open from 8:00a.m.
Clones Mart opened in September 1969 and will host a special anniversary sale in September to mark 54 years in business.
Silage progress in Clones
Commenting on how silage has been progressing in the region, the mart manager said: “The improved weather conditions over the past week have been a huge help to farmers in this area.
“That said, low-lying ground is still very difficult to work through and there are some farmers who generally cut silage later on in the season who have yet to secure their crop of silage for winter feed.
“These farmers generally cut their silage from July onwards and the way the weather came this year has made things very tricky for them.”