Video: Brian Hogan gives his views on the cattle trade at Athenry Mart

On Tuesday last (October 6), AgriLand made the trip over to Athenry Mart’s weekly cattle sale.

Overall, the trade was good on the day. There was a good demand for short-keep, continental-type cattle on the day.

Dry cow prices topped out at €2.01/kg. Short-keep heifers weighing 600kg or more made from €1.66/kg up to €2.39/kg. While 600kg plus bullocks made up to €2.40/kg.

To find out the thoughts of the newly-appointed mart manager of Athenry Mart, AgriLand spoke to Brian Hogan after the sale.

He said: “We had a big show of cattle. We had about 50-60 dry cows on offer and there was a very good trade for these types. We had a top call of €1,690 [or €2.01/kg] for a Limousin cow weighing 840kg.

“There was a very good demand for those short-keep cows. In terms of heifers, we didn’t have that many light heifers on offer [300-400kg]. The majority of the heifers on offer were more forward-types.

“There was a good price there of €1,410 for a Charolais heifer weighing 665kg. There were a lot of good-quality Limousin heifers on show.

There was a good price of €1,320 for a Limousin heifer weighing 640kg. The lighter heifers, as I said, were in short supply. A good price I saw there was a Charolais heifer weighing 410kg that sold for €930 [or €2.26/kg].

“Plainer-quality heifers were also a steady trade as well. All in all, it was a good trade for heifers.

“Lastly, in terms of bullocks, there was a big entry of strong, forward-type bullocks. There were some very well bred Limousin bullocks on show there and those types commanded a good price.

“Store-type cattle [400-500kg] made up to a tops of €2.47/kg for better-quality continental types, while those short-keep types made up to €2.40/kg.”