Last Thursday’s sale at Kingscourt Mart saw a strong entry of about 450 cattle on offer. Mart manager Lisa Keenan said that the trade was good, with prices up a little on previous weeks. She added that the quality of stock on offer at the sale was slightly improved also.

With BPS payments rolling out last week, Lisa said that this resulted in an increase of farmer activity, which had a visibly positive effect on the sale. Of the 450 on offer, about 250 of these were bullocks, 50 bulls, 100 heifers and 50 dry cows.

At the top of the trade, several heavy bullocks sold for as much as €1,030 with the weight. These were mainly top-quality U grade continental bullocks over 650kg. The top price was for a 950kg Charolais bullock which sold for €1,990 (€2.09/kg). Another top-quality heavy bullock weighing 720kg sold for €1,750 (€2.43/kg).

Forward store bullocks over 550kg sold mainly from €2.00/kg to €2.20/kg for average-quality types, while top-quality U grades sold from €2.30/kg to €2.40/kg. The top price for a store bullock was €1,280, which was paid for a 500kg Charolais (€2.56/kg).

Other better-quality forward stores sold from €1,200 to €1,400/head. Lighter stores from 400kg to 500kg ranged mainly from €2.10/kg to €2.30/kg for average-quality types, with the top third selling from €2.40/kg to €2.55/kg or €600 to €750 along with the weight.

There were about 50 bulls on offer also, mainly heavy types. Prices for those over 500kg ranged from €1,035 to €1,190 or from €2.07/kg to €2.25/kg. Lighter types from 400kg to 470kg sold mainly from €2.28/kg to €2.45/kg.

The 100 heifers on offer were met with good farmer buyer activity. The majority of those on offer were store types. Those from 500kg to 600kg sold mainly from €2.06/kg to €2.20/kg, with better-quality types making from €2.20/kg to €2.30/kg.

The largest proportion on offer was 400kg to 500kg heifers. These sold mainly from €2.30/kg to €2.40/kg, with the top third selling mainly from €2.40/kg to €2.50/kg.

Commission rate to the buyer is €8 per animal and commission rates to the seller are €10 to €20 based on the value of the animal sold.