Baltinglass Mart held its weekly cattle sale on Wednesday last and, although numbers are down – owing to the time of year – buyers were plentiful on the day.

The trade was dominated by suckler-bred stock and farmers and feedlot buyers were particularly keen to secure the Charolais and Limousin types offered. Grass stores met a strong trade and prices of over €2/kg were the norm.

Commenting on the trade, Joe Kinsella of Baltinglass Mart said: “Numbers have dropped over recent weeks, but that’s normal for the time of year. Numbers will pick up again as the year progresses.

“We had plenty of buyers around the ring on Wednesday and, as a result, store cattle met a strong trade. Farmers and feedlot buyers were both active on the day.”

Heifers

A nice selection of Charolais, Angus, Hereford and Limousin heifers were offered and farmers were especially keen to secure multi-purpose heifers – either suitable for feeding or breeding. Strong prices were generated for some of the nice, coloured Charolais stock offered.

Bullocks

Like the heifer trade, the bullock section of the sale was dominated by continental-bred cattle. However, a small number of Hereford and Friesian steers were offered.

Upcoming sales

Baltinglass Mart hosts its weekly cattle sale every Wednesday; the sale commences at 11:30am. Sheep sales take place on Saturday mornings and begin at 10:30am.