Saturday’s sale at Carnew Mart saw a record entry of 1,275 cattle and calves pass through the mart. Mart manager David Quinn said that the trade was very strong for all good-quality types, although he added that there were more dairy-cross cattle on offer than previous weeks.

The dry cow sale saw another buoyant trade for all fleshed types. David said that there were about 130 cows on offer. Of these, about 60% were Friesians.

Fleshed Friesian cows sold mainly from €300 to €500 along with the weight, while continentals made from €400 to €600, with the tops selling to €800 over the weight or €1,700 for a top-quality 900kg cow (€1.89/kg).

Store cows sold mainly from €300 to €550 over for continental cows and from €100 over for plain Friesian feeding cows to €200 to €300 over for better-quality types.

David said that the store trade was particularly strong also, with plenty of farmers and feeders actively buying.

Beef bullocks and heifers were met with very strong demand. Fleshed continental bullocks sold mainly from €700 to €800 over the weight, with top-quality fleshed cattle making up to €1,000 over.

David said that demand for store cattle was very strong also, with bundles of well-fed Friesians selling for up to €2.00/kg at times. Heavy slaughter-fit Friesian bullocks made up to €1,470 for 700kg, or €2.10/kg. The majority of continental store bullocks over 500kg sold from €1,150 to €1,250, with similar weight heifers selling for similar prices. On a price-per-kilo basis, this translates into the majority of cattle over 500kg making from €2.30/kg to €2.50/kg.

Lighter store bullocks and heifers from 380kg to 450kg sold mainly from €1,050 to €1,150/head. Light Friesians around 350kg sold mainly from €1.50/kg to €1.70/kg, with Angus and Herefords selling from €2.00/kg to €2.15/kg.

David said that weanlings sold to a top price of €3.30/kg for a 370kg Belgian Blue. The main demand for good-quality weanlings saw prices range from €2.80/kg to €3.00/kg.

The calf sale saw about 340 calves on offer. Friesian bulls are getting more scarce and prices have increased again in the past two weeks as a result. Commission rates are 1.5% to the seller and €10 to the buyer.

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