Castlerea Co-Operative Livestock Mart, Co. Roscommon, held its weekly cattle sale yesterday (August 13), as numbers remained strong and prices reflected the quality on offer.

According to a mart report published after the sale, the cattle on offer were described as being of a higher quality than previous weeks, with prices in Co. Roscommon reflecting this.

The bullock ring saw the top call go to a Limousin bullock weighing 840kg that sold for €3,140 at €3.74/kg.

Bullocks, especially stores, regularly saw prices above €4.00/kg and getting up to €4.50/kg.

Below are some sample prices for bullocks on the day:

A 380kg Charolais bullock sold for €1,710 at €4.50/kg;
A 400kg Angus bullock sold for €1,700 at €4.25/kg;
A 540kg Limousin bullock sold for €2,360 at €4.37/kg;
A 505kg Limousin bullock sold for €2,020 at €4.00/kg;
A 605kg Angus bullock sold for €2,240 at €3.70/kg;
A 760kg Angus bullock sold for €3,080 at €4.36/kg;
A 810kg Angus bullock sold for €2,860 at €3.53/kg.

The heifer ring saw similarly strong prices.

The top call went to a Charolais heifer weighing 640kg sold for €2,690 at €4.02/kg.

Some other notable heifer prices included:

A 395kg Charolais heifer sold for €1,850 at €4.68/kg;
A 330kg Limousin heifer sold for €1,390 at €4.21/kg;
A 380kg Belgian Blue heifer sold for €1,440 at €3.79/kg;
A 450kg Charolais heifer sold for €2,040 at €4.53/kg;
A 435kg Charolais heifer sold for €1,880 at €4.32/kg;
A 660kg Charolais heifer sold for €2,420 at €3.67/kg;
A 660kg Charolais heifer sold for €2,680 at €4.06/kg.

The dry cow trade saw a top call of €2,950 for a Hereford-cross cow weighing 925kg that sold for €3.19/kg.

Other impressive sales from the dry cow trade include a 745kg Charolais cow that sold for €2,720 at €3.65/kg, and a Belgian Blue-cross cow weighing 540kg that sold for €2,280 at 4.22/kg.

Springer cows made up to €1,950/head on the day.

Calves and runners ranged from €290/head to €1,210/head for better continental lots, with a full clearance reported.

The weanling sale saw some impressive sales.

A 395kg Limousin weanling bull sold for €2,300 made €5.82/kg. A 265kg Limousin heifer sold for €1,350 at €5.09/kg.

The table below outlines some sample prices for weanlings on the day:

Castlerea Mart is advising farmer to have their cattle in optimum condition, including dosed and vaccinated, as the autumn weanling sales approach.

Castlerea Mart will hold its next sale on Thursday, August 20.

It will also hold a mass of remembrance on Tuesday, September 1, at 7:00p.m to mark 50 years in business.