Castlerea Co Operative Livestock Mart in Co. Roscommon held its weekly cattle sale on Thursday (June 25) with 150 lots on offer through the ring and numbers down marginally on last week.

Speaking to Agriland after the sale, Castlerea Mart manager Brendan Egan put the reduction in numbers down to the warm weather as farmers took advantage of the good weather to get a handle on fieldwork.

Bullocks in the sale topped out at €5.11/kg, while store heifers saw a smaller number through the ring compared to last week but prices reach up to €3.78/kg.

Below are some sample prices from the bullock sale:

A Limousin cross bullock weighing 475kg made €1,800 or €3.87/kg;
A Limousin cross bullock weighing 420kg made €1,770 or €4.21/kg;
A Charolais cross bullock weighing 430kg made €1,610 or €3.74/kg;
A Parthenaise cross bullock weighing 370kg made €1,510 or €4.08/kg;
An Angus cross bullock weighing 440kg made €1,450 or €3.30/kg.

In addition, an Angus heifer weighing 285kg made €1,010 or €3.54/kg while a Belgian Blue heifer weighing 265kg made €980 or €3.70/kg.

A forward store Limousin heifer weighing 625kg sold for €2,360 or €3.78/kg.

Weanlings

Weanling cattle in Castlerea saw "a tremendous trade" according to the mart manager.

The firm weanling trade is a trend that has been seen in marts across the country.

Weanling bulls topped out at €6.22/kg while weanling heifers peaked at €6.27/kg.

A Charolais weanling bull weighing 265kg made €1,650 or €6.22/kg;
A Limousin cross weanling bull weighing 295kg made €1,350 or €4.58/kg;
A Belgian Blue cross weanling bull weighing 240kg made €1,000 or €4.17/kg;
A Charolais cross weanling bull weighing 400kg made €2,250 or €5.63/kg.

In addition, a Charolais cross weanling heifer weighing 255kg made €1,600 and made the top price per kg on the day in Castlerea Mart of €6.27/kg.

A Limousin weanling heifer weighing 290kg made €1,270 or €4.38/kg.

Another 300kg Charolais cross weanling heifer made €1,750 or €5.83/kg.

A Simmental cross weanling heifer weighing 330kg made €1,500 or €4.55/kg.

Cows and calves

A Charolais dry cow weighing 865kg made €2,650 or €3.06/kg. A Blonde d'Aquitaine cross dry cow weighing 645kg made €2,530 or €3.92/kg.

Cows with calves at foot made strong returns in Castlerea with prices paid ranging from €2,700/set to the top price paid of €3,900 for a Limousin cow and her calf.

Springers made from €1,820 to €2,620. Runners made from €400 to €700, while calves saw another strong sale with quality rewarded with high prices.

Below are some sample prices for calves on the day:

An Angus cross bull calf made €530;
A Friesian bull calf made €430;
An Angus cross heifer calf made €330;
An Angus cross heifer calf made €200.

Castlerea will be holding another general cattle sale on Thursday, July 2, beginning at 11:00a.m.