There was a large showing of cattle at Ballymena Livestock Mart on Friday last with the usual sales of dairy and suckler cows, calves, weanlings and a special sale of Shorthorn cattle.

Prices were up slightly on previous weeks, with a good trade across all classes of stock.

In the dairy ring, 38 cows and heifers sold to a top price of £1,930 for a calved heifer, with a second-calver selling to £1,610. The general run for dairy was £1,200 to £1,600.

In the suckler ring, cows and calves were selling from £1,100 to £1,700 for top-quality lots. A few purebred cows sold to £2,000.

In the calf ring, prices were very strong, hitting a top of £475 for an Angus bull calf, followed by £400 for a Limousin.

Calves aged five to six weeks were selling from £280 to £380 for beef-bred animals.

Friesian calves sold from £70 to £220, depending on age and quality.

There were 324 weanlings offered for sale. Weanlings sold from a general price range of £2.10/kg for plainer quality lots to £2.80/kg for top-quality bull calves weighing 250kg to 300kg. Heavier calves over 300kg sold closer to £2.40/kg.