Elphin Mart in Co. Roscommon recently hosted its spring show and sale of weanling bulls.
There were approximately 350 weanling bulls on offer on the day and mart manager Kevin Caslin told Agriland there was “an exceptional trade”.
Caslin added that “some of the highest prices ever seen at Elphin Mart” were secured by the farmers selling cattle at the sale.
“Generally at this sale, farmers would be buying weanlings to bring back and sell as store bullocks in the back end of the year, but this year it was the feedlots and the exporters that bought the majority of the weanling bulls,” he said.
Prices of the prize winners in the pre-sale show:
“We had buyers from Donegal to Kilkenny active at the sale,” the manager continued.
“The exporters were looking for the top-end suckler-bred weanling bulls for markets such as Italy and Greece while the feedlots were active for all strong weanling bulls for a short keep to finish for bull beef.”
The Elphin Mart manager commended the quality of the weanling bulls shown by suckler farmers from the region at the sale.
“They were mostly U-grade weanlings. In fairness there was great cattle in it. There were mostly forward-type weanling bulls in the sale,” he said.
Sample prices from the sale:
“We had sellers from Roscommon, Leitrim, Galway and Mayo, as well as few from other parts of the west of Ireland,” Caslin said.
“There was a very high clearance rate with only 13 calves not sold and prices were up by €250/head on last year for the higher-end bulls.”
Caslin noted that sellers appeared “very happy” with the prices being secured for their weanling bulls and said the strong trade is “putting a bit of confidence into the suckler farmers to keep at it”.
Elphin Mart
Elphin Mart is renowned across Ireland and further afield for the quality of the suckler-bred cattle shown there.
“As well as the top-end weanlings, the ordinary, R-grade weanlings were all coming into great money as well,” Caslin said.
He said that buyers “seem very happy” with the stock they are getting at Elphin Mart and appear confident on the beef trade, especially for the forward-type bulls to be finished in the shed by May or June.
“As one buyer said to me recently, the Elphin cattle might look a little bit dearer on paper but when you bring them home and put them in a pen with other cattle, you see the difference and you really notice it on the way they kill out too,” he said.
The top price on the day was €2,180 for a 720kg pedigree Simmental bull.
“Any of the good calves were coming into €3.30-3.40/kg handy and some of the calves made up near the €4/kg mark,” Caslin said.
“The top-end weanlings in the 450-550kg weight bracket were making roughly €1,400 with their weight while 350-450kg bulls were making from €1,100-€1,200 with their weight.”
Elphin Mart will host a special sale of store heifers for grass on March 22, and store bullocks for grass on March 29.
The mart will also host a special sale of weanling heifers and bulls on the April bank holiday Monday.