Carnew Mart in Co. Wicklow held its weekly cattle sale on Saturday, June 27, where numbers through the ring were similar to last week and a full clearance was seen.

Speaking to Agriland after the sale, Carnew Mart's Eugene Clune noted how prices were up by €100/head in cases, with cull cows in particular seeing a strong trade.

Friesian cows broke the €3.00/kg mark in several cases while a Charolais cow weighing over 800kg made the top price on the day of €3,320.

Some of the sample prices for cull cows on the day included:

A Friesian cull cow weighing 784kg sold for €2,380 or €3.04/kg;
A Friesian cull cow weighing 610kg, sold for €2,080 or €3.41/kg;
A Limousin cross cull cow weighing 574kg sold for €1,900 or €3.31/kg;
A Simmental cross cull cow weighing 528kg sold for €1,770 or €3.35/kg.

Heifers saw a "lively trade" with beef store heifers trading for up to €5.50/kg.

The top price/kg in the heifer section on the day went to a Limousin cross heifer weighing 320kg who fetched €1,760 or €5.50/kg.

Heavier forward store heifers saw a good trade in Carnew as well, with prices going up to €4.03/kg.

A Charolais cross heifer weighing 682kg made €2,660 or €3.90/kg;
A Limousin cross heifer weighing 630kg, made €2,540 or €4.03/kg;
A Limousin cross heifer weighing 398kg, made €1,970 or €4.95/kg;

Bullock numbers through the ring saw a reduction but demand remained firm, with Clune putting this down to farmers looking to capitalise on strong grass growth rates as the combination of recent showers and heat drives growth rates.

The bull trade remained strong with prices of above €5.00/kg achieved by many bulls in the 400-500kg range.

A Limousin bull weighing 530kg made €2,270 or €4.28kg, while a heavier Limousin bull weighing 562kg made €2,070 or €3.68/kg.

A Charolais bull weighing 370kg made €1,820 or €4.92/kg while another Charolais bull weighing 358kg made €1,760 or €4.92/kg.

Some other sample prices from the Carnew sale are as follows:

A Charolais cross bullock weighing 664kg made €2,540 or €3.83/kg;
A Belgian Blue cross bullock weighing 552kg made €2,510 or €4.55/kg;
A Simmental bullock weighing 706kg made €2,470 or €3.50/kg;
A Limousin cross bullock weighing 420kg made €2,000 or €4.76/kg;
An Angus cross bullock weighing 382kg made €1,760/kg or €4.61/kg.

Carnew Mart will be holding a special 'E' and 'U' grade sale in conjunction with their general cattle sale on Saturday, July 4.