Monday’s calf sale at Dungarvan Mart saw 685 calves on offer, up from 385 during the week of the snow when a concerted effort was made to clear the yard in order for the sale to take place.

Mart manager Ger Flynn said numbers took a large jump this week due to the backlog caused by Storm Emma.

He added that peak numbers of Friesian bull calves seem to be coming out at the moment, which has put pressure on prices.

Prices were back by €20 to €30/head this week and Ger described the calf sale as “a buyers’ market’’.

He added that he would imagine that Friesian bull calf prices are currently on the floor and that you could see a turn in the coming weeks.

Ger said that the number of Angus and Herefords on offer are starting to rise once again.

He added that buyers of Angus calves have become much warier of the type of calf they are purchasing.

The best demand is for a better-quality square Angus, with a move away from narrow, badly-conformed and small calves, which could have a Jersey background.

While good-quality Angus and Herefords are making easily over €300/head, plain types are selling from €250 upwards. The differential between bulls and heifers is running at €50 to €70/head.