As Level 5 Covid-19 restrictions were eased last week, marts across the country recorded increasing numbers of cattle brought forward for sale – in comparison to the previous week.

Alongside numbers rising, the number of store cattle available has risen from previous weeks across a number of marts. There was a strong farmer demand highlighted by managers last week for quality, lighter store cattle.

Continental store bullocks and heifers (under 500kg) were trading from €2.16/kg up to €2.26/kg in general last week – with more forward-type bullocks reported to be selling for €2.10-2.15/kg.

Managers are still reporting that the dry cow trade is remaining steady – as heavy, continental-type cows (over 700kg) continue to sell from €1.75-2.00/kg.

This week AgriLand takes a look at the recent sales of cattle in Roscommon and Balla Marts.

Roscommon Mart

There was a large entry of cattle at Roscommon Mart’s weekly sale held last Friday (December 4).

Maura Quigley, the mart’s manager, noted: “Bidding was brisk from both ringside and online buyers, with some customers very anxious for stock.”

There were over 76 dry cows on offer, alongside 40 pens of bullocks and 63 pens of heifers. In the bullock ring, steers sold at an average of €2.16/kg up to €2.64/kg.

Heifers traded well last Friday, selling at an average of €2.26/kg – with a top price of €4.92/kg achieved. Breeding heifers, in particular, were in “great demand”, with excellent prices recorded for top-quality females.

One standout price noted was for a quality Limousin-bred heifer (weighing 585kg) that sold for €2,880 or €4.92/kg.

Dry cows sold at an average of €1.62/kg up to €2.07/kg.

Balla Mart

Balla Mart hosted its weekly sale of cattle last Saturday (December 5). The numbers on offer were up on last week, with slightly over 800 head of cattle on offer, consisting of: dry cows; bullocks; heifers; and weanlings.

Commenting on the sale, the mart’s new manager, Stephen Hannon, stated: “Farmers were just happy to be back around at ring, although online activity was still in full swing.”

Dry cows were a “flying trade”, with the northern customers and factory agents aiding the sale majorly for the heavier cows, according to Stephen.

Heavy continental-bred cows were trading at a top of €2.00/kg and made back to €1.75/kg. Store cows sold at an average of €1.65/kg. Meanwhile, Friesian-bred cows traded around the €1.20/kg mark.

In the bullock ring, David claimed: “The best trade on the day was for lighter store bullocks that had the bit of quality to match. They seemed to be in high demand amongst farmers on Saturday.”

Lighter bullocks weighing between 300kg to 400kg sold at an average of €2.26/kg, with heavier stores (weighing 400-500kg) selling at an average of €2.27/kg. Forward bullocks, over 500kg, averaged €2.08/kg.

The heifer trade saw ‘beefy’ continental-type heifers selling from €2.25-2.35/kg, while the average for heifers weighing over 500kg amounted to €2.20/kg.

The demand again was there for store heifers, with lighter stores (400-500kg) selling at €2.32/kg.

“Quality replacement heifers sold very well,” Stephen added. One Limousin breeding heifer (weighing 550kg) went on to sell for €1,420 or €2.58/kg.

In the weanling ring, there was a “slack presence of export activity” last week, with farmers leading the charge in sourcing the store-type weanling – weighing 250-350kg.

Weanling bulls sold from €2.35/kg up to €2.85/kg, with the top-quality weanlings achieving over €3.00/kg.

Meanwhile, in the heifer ring, David explained: “The average quality weanling heifer was trading at €2.40/kg to €2.45/kg, with lesser quality heifers selling for €2.20-2.25/kg.”