Farmer were very much in the mix of buying activity for bullocks and heifers, with agents more active in weanling bull buying at Skibbereen mart on Friday.

With most cattle now at grass in west Cork, the premium that outlying cattle had in recent weeks seems to have passed.

Very few beef-bred bullocks sold outside of the €2.15/kg to €2.50/kg price range, although select lots of continentals exceeded this, with some selling for over €3/kg. Friesians were scarce, but sold from €250 up to €415 with their weight.

Most young bulls on offer sold from €2.40/kg up to €2.80/kg with a handful selling for more than this. Demand for bulls over and under the 330kg threshold for export to Turkey was on an equal footing.

Sample prices:

Bullocks

One Limousin, June 2016, 410kg, €1,060, €2.59/kg.

One Hereford, March 2016, 455kg, €1,000, €2.20/kg.

One Charolais, January 2016, 620kg, €1,335, €2.15/kg.

One Blonde D’aquitaine, March 2016, 325kg, €940, €2.89/kg.

Two Limousin, May 2015, 477kg, €1,105, €2.32/kg.

Three Limousin, April 2016, 308kg, €915, €2.97/kg.

Six Friesian, January 2016, 350kg, €680, €1.94/kg.

Three Angus, February 2016, 401kg, €985, €2.46/kg.

Bulls

Three Limousin, August 2016, 301kg, €800, €2.66/kg.

One Limousin, May 2016, 345kg, €930, €2.70/kg.

Three Charolais, March 2016, 310kg, €900, €2.90/kg.

One Limousin, July 2016, 245kg, €680, €2.78/kg.

Heifers

Heifer trade was similar to the bullocks, with a good demand for continental types of all ages. Two-year-old Angus and Hereford heifers sold mainly in the €1.95/kg to €2/kg price range. Lighter two-year-olds were a tougher trade, with prices 20-30c behind heifers that were of a similar age, but heavier.