Clare Co-Operative Marts held their weekly cattle sale in Ennis Mart on Thursday (July 30), where 464 cattle went through the ring, with numbers down on previous weeks.

A mart report released after the sale noted that there was a lot of forward store bullocks again this week, but that the beef cattle supply was limited.

Interestingly, in the bullock ring, there were equal numbers of continental and dairy crosses. This was put down to grass being very scarce, especially north and east of Ennis, leading to farmers shifting stock earlier.

Heavy bullocks over 600kg saw trade hold relative to last week. Lighter bullocks saw trade ease back by 10-15c on average but this was down to the large number of dairy crosses.

The top call went to an 800kg Charolais cross making €3,220 at €4.02/kg.

Another impressive sale saw four Charolais-cross bullocks weighing on average 680kg sold for €2,930/head at €4.31/kg.

Some other sample prices from the bullock sale include:

A 750kg Charolais-cross bullock made €3,090 at €4.12/kg;
A pen of five Limousin-cross bullocks weighing on average 683kg made €2,780/head at €4.07/kg;
A 705kg Charolais-cross bullock made €2,890 at €4.10/kg;
A 665kg Hereford-cross bullock made €2,430 at €3.65/kg.

The store cattle trade saw some solid sales with three Limousin cross bullocks weighing on average 483kg sold for €2,400/head at €4.96/kg.

Below are some other notable trades:

A 515kg Charolais-cross bullock made €2,450 at €4.75/kg;
Five Angus-cross bullocks weighing on average 566kgs made €2,000/head at €3.53/kg;
Three Hereford-cross bullocks weighing on average 473kg sold for €1,870/head at €3.95/kg.

The heifer ring saw a similar story as heavier heifers saw the best of the trade as store heifers eased back by up to 15c/kg.

The top sale in the heifer ring went to a 775kg Hereford-cross heifer sold for €2,800 at €3.61/kg.

Below are some other prices for heifers on the day:

A 490kg Limousin-cross heifer made €2,110 at €4.30/kg;
A 445kg Charolais-cross heifer made €1,920 at €4.31/kg;
A 420kg Limousin-cross heifer made €1,920 at €4.57/kg;
Two 345kg Limousin-cross heifers made €1,640 at €4.75/kg;
A 515kg Limousin-cross heifer made €2,280 at €4.42/kg;
A 635kg Charolais-cross heifer made €2,480 at €3.90/kg;
A 700kg Limousin-cross heifer made €2,600 at €3.61/kg;
A 525kg Limousin-cross heifer made €2,320 at €4.41/kg.

The cull cow sale saw another week with more of a mix of dairy cows. There was just shy of 100 cull cows through the ring in Ennis.

Mart manager Martin McNamara confirmed to Agriland that fodder seemed to be an issue for farmers as the mart was seeing culls they normally would not see for another two or three months.

Continental cows made between €3.60-€3.80/kg, with lighter cows seeing an easier trade.

A 610kg Limousin cross cull cow sold for €2,370 at €3.88/kg. Another 865kg Limousin cross cull cow sold for €3,230 at €3.73/kg.

Some other sample prices for cull cows include:

A 595kg Friesian-cross cull cow made €1,740 at €2.92/kg;
A 595kg Friesian-cross cull cow made €1,640 at €2.75/kg;
A 770kg Limousin-cross cull cow made €2,940 at €3.81/kg;
A 785kg Charolais-cross cull cow made €2,760 at €3.51/kg;
A 485kg Limousin-cross cull cow made €1,820 at €3.75/kg;
A 450kg Limousin-cross cull cow made €1,660 at €3.68/kg.

A number of cull bulls were also on offer with these averaging €3.50/kg.

The top call went to a Charolais bull weighing 1,200kg making €4,720 at €3.93/kg.

Another impressive sale included the sale of a Limousin bull weighing 940kg making €3,500 at €3.72/kg.