Carnaross Mart in Co. Meath hosted its weekly calf and bullock sale on Monday, April 8, with over 800 calves and 550 bullocks on offer.
Speaking to Agriland after the sale, mart manager Padraig McElroy said that the trade in the bullock ring has held exceptionally well considering the weather conditions with the trade for lighter, plainer-type cattle back slightly but most other types of cattle holding well.
He also noted that there remains high clearances and noticeably high farmer demand for calves in the calf sale also.
Calf sale
There were over 820 calves on offer at the Monday sale with virtually a full clearance.
The quality of calves on offer in the sale were of a noticeably good quality, with plenty of slightly older, stronger calves present in the sale.
The mart manager said the average weight of the calves in the sale “is probably somewhere from 65-70kg, with a clear preference from customers for the heavier calves”.
Sample prices from the calf sale:
Commenting on some of the prices, he said: “There were two Angus heifers weighing 105kg that made €420/head. Most farmers are focusing on the weight and the visual appearance of the calves, but some farmers are also looking at the Commercial Beef Value (CBV) of the calves they are buying.”
He said that exporters were active in the sale with a noticeably high number of Northern customers for the calves on offer. Over 200 calves were purchased by customers from Northern Ireland at the Monday sale.
He said: “There seems to be a lot less Friesian bull calves around this year and more coloured calves. The quality seems much better this year which is making things easier for everyone.”
“Farmer customers are buying a lot of calves it seems. There are a lot of new, younger farmers buying calves, they’re the lowest money cattle available at the end of the day.”
The mart manager expects the numbers of calves on offer in the weekly sales will gradually begin to decline over the coming weeks.
Bullock sale
There were a total of 550 bullocks on offer in the sale, with a 95% clearance rate and the trade described as “holding well considering the weather”.
Commenting on some of the top prices from the sale, he said: “There was a 700kg Charolais bullock that sold for €2,300 or just under €3.30kg.
Sample prices from the bullock sale:
“In general, the heavy cattle are all clearing the €3.00/kg mark. There was a number of lighter bullocks in the sale and these made as high as €3.90/kg for the good ones, with four Charolais bullocks with an average weight of 310kg selling for €1,200 head.”
“The 500-550kg good store bullocks are a great trade. There was 550kg cattle making €1,910 and 600kg cattle making up to €2,070 so despite the wet weather, the trade for good stores is holding but plainer cattle are back slightly.
“Friesian store bullocks are making around the €2.20-2.30/kg mark,” he added.
The mart manager described northern activity in the bullock ring as “just steady” with “a lot of farmers driving on the trade presently”.