Balla Livestock Mart in Co. Mayo hosted its third weanling sale of the autumn 2026 season on Tuesday (September 8).

Speaking to Agriland after the sale, mart manager Michael Nolan said while there was a smaller sale of weanlings this week, there was "a fine trade for the bulls, especially following the show and sale last week".

The mart manager said there was "a lot of great Charolais weanling bulls on offer" in the most recent sale with only one bull calf going home unsold in the sale.

Some of the top price weanling bulls in the sale included:

A 330kg Charolais bull made €2,040 or €6.18/kg;
A 395kg Charolais bull made €2,360 or €5.97/kg;
A 455kg Charolais bull made €2,480 or €5.45/kg;
A 440kg Belgian Blue bull sold for €2,500 or €5.68/kg.

The heavier-type weanling bulls weighing from 400-450kg for feeding were the hardest sold, according to the mart manager.

These were making over €2,000/head in the sale. When compared to the prices paid for strong bullocks in the Saturday sale, they were "maybe not so bad", the mart manager said.

A January-2026-born Belgian Blue bull weighing 440kg made €2,500 for a farmer from Ballycroy in Co. Mayo.

The mart manager said that all the major export buyers were in attendance around the ring.

Bulls ranging from 300-400kg "met a brisk trade" making around the €4.90/kg mark in general.

Bulls weighing from 200-350kg averaged €5.05/kg and the weanling bulls weighing from 350-450kg averaged €4.79/kg.

The heavier-type bulls weighing over 450kg traded at an average price of €4.48/kg in the sale.

Weanling heifers at Balla

There were a lot of farmers at the sale keen to buy the heifer calves, especially any fancy types suitable for breeding, Nolan said.

"The plainer types represented some value to buyers to feed on until next year," he added.

Weanling heifers in the 200-350kg weight bracket averaged €4.86/kg, with the heifers in the 350-450kg weight range averaging 4.50/kg.

Heavier-type heifers in the sale weighing over 450kg averaged €4.57/kg.

Some of the top prices for heifers in the sale included:

A 320kg Charolais heifer sold for €1,860 or €5.81/kg;
A 395kg Limousin heifer sold for €1,990 or €5.04/kg;
A 405kg Belgian Blue heifer sold for €2,000 or €4.94/kg;
A 450kg Charolais heifer sold for €2,180 or €4.84/kg;
A 335kg Belgian Blue heifer sold for €2,420 or €7.19/kg.

The next weanling sale will take place at the mart venue on Tuesday, September 15.