Weanling bulls peaked at prices above €7.00/kg at Carnew Mart, Co. Wicklow's most recent weanling sale, while cattle prices for bullocks from 300-400kg averaged €5.00/kg at Balla Mart in Co. Mayo's most recent sale.

There were over 380 weanlings on offer at Carnew Mart's most recent weanling sale on Wednesday, October 29, with the bulls "proving to be a booming trade," according to Eugene Clune.

He said that bulls "sold to a top price of €7.03/kg" with two 313kg Limousin-cross selling for €2,200/head and heifers selling to a top price of €6.50/kg for a Limousin-cross heifer weighing 234kg that sold for €1,520.

Some of the top prices from the weanling bull sale at Carnew Mart:

274kg Belgian Blue bull made €1,860 or €6.79/kg;
300kg Charolais bull made €1,960 or €6.53/kg.
2 Limousin bulls weighing 324kg each that sold for €2,070/head or €6.39/kg.

Heavier young bulls in the sale made up to €2,940 or €5.42/kg for a 542kg Charolais bull.

Angus-sired dairy-bred heifers made up to €1,130/head or €5.68/kg for seven Angus-cross heifers averaging 199kg. Nine lighter 176kg Angus-cross heifers made €950/head or €5.40/kg.

Other top weanling heifer prices from the sale at Carnew Mart:

234kg Limousin heifer sold for €6.50/kg or €1,520/head;
262kg Limousin heifer sold for €6.49/kg or €1,700/head;
222kg Belgian Blue heifer sold for €1,400 or €6.31/kg;
270kg Shorthorn-cross heifer sold for €1,610 or €5.96/kg.

Clune said: "Most bulls sold for between €6.30-€6.80/kg and farmers were on fire buying the lighter bull weanlings and pushing exporters for the stock on offer."

Cattle prices at Balla Mart

There were over 1,000 cattle sold at Balla Mart, Co. Mayo, on Saturday, November 1, with the average prices for the store bullocks up while prices for heavier bullocks over 500kg remained much the same as last week, according to the mart manager Michael Nolan.

Bullocks in the 300-400kg weight bracket averaged €4.99/kg "with the most of them making from €2,000-€2,400/head or €6.00/kg."

The mart manager attributed the strong prices to "returning buyers realising time is running out, with only six Saturday sales left before Christmas."

Bullocks in the 400-500kg weight bracket averaged €5.10/kg, while heavier bullocks weighing over 500kg averaged €4.67/kg.

The mart manager noted that heavy continental bullocks weighing from 650-850kg sold from €3,000-€3,500/head with "a good base put under these heavy bullocks by Northern Ireland factory buyers who were active in all three rings".

In the heifer sale, store heifers weighing 300-400kg averaged €5.14/kg - up by 30c/kg on last week, according to the mart manager.

Heifers weighing 400-500kg averaged €4.91/kg - up 6c/kg on last week and heifers weighing over 500kg averaged €4.67/kg.

The top price in the heifer sale went to a 620kg Belgian Blue heifer that made €4,100 or €6.61/kg.

Another 665kg Limousin heifer made €3,850 or €5.79/kg.

Dry cows weighing over 500kg averaged €3.66/kg.

There was also a special sale of 22 in-calf heifers on the day with the best being an April-2023-born Limousin heifer selling for €5,950 or €8.62/kg.