Cahir Mart held its weekly cattle and calf trade on Wednesday, June 10, with a 99% clearance rate, and strong demand for more mature calves.

Calves were the main focus of the sale, with 350 calves on offer. There were also 60 bullocks and 60 heifers on sale, alongside 50 cull cows.

Speaking to Agriland after the sale, mart manager Brian Murphy described the trade as "exceptional", with the majority of calves were sold to export buyers.

Murphy remarked that prospective buyers were looking for mature calves.

The headline calf sale of the day was a 213kg, early March-born Hereford that went for €960.

Murphy noted that there were "a lot of heavier calves", with the Belgian Blues making around the €800 mark.

He put the massive prices down to farmers "looking to go earlier" for younger stock in the calve trade due to the cuts in margins for the forward store, and finishing cattle.

Stronger calves on the day went for between €550-€800/head, while lighter calves still recouped "good value" for farmers, going for between €350-€550/head.

A pen of Friesian bull calves born on February 4 saw good value. One calf weighing 176kgs made €590, and another weighing 165kgs made €550.

On the bullock trade, Murphy said "beefier animals saw a steadier trade with prices holding" after seeing reductions over the past weeks.

The following are a sample of the prices paid for cattle in the ring:

418kg Angus bullock made €1,460 or €3.50/kg;
425kg Whitehead bullock made €1,680 or €3.95/kg;
442kg Whitehead bullock made €1,910 or €4.32/kg;
641kg Whitehead bullock made €2,130 or €3.33/kg;
545kg Whitehead bullock made €1,800 or €3.30/kg.

Heifers saw a similarly steady trade:

367kg Hereford heifer made €1,320 or €3.60/kg;
460kg Angus heifer made €1,580 or €3.43/kg;
407kg Angus heifer made €1,350 or €3.32/kg.

Cows also saw a steady trade, according to Murphy.

Lighter cows fetched marginally above the €1,000/head mark, while heavier culls made above €1,600/head.

The average price/kg ranged from around €2.30 for lighter cows, and up to €2.70 for heavier culls.

Commenting on the overall state of the beef trade, Murphy said he felt the trade was "steadying a small bit".

This sentiment is similiar to what Agriland has seen reported across marts in different parts of the country over the last week.