Factory cuts are starting to bite in marts, with heavy cows back in price at Monday night’s weekly cattle sale in Elphin. Cull cows had been a roaring trade for the last few months, but have taken a dip following the latest factory cuts at the beginning of this week.

This April 2008-born Limousin cow weighed 835kg and sold for €1,580 (€1.89/kg).

Top-quality heavy cows were hitting between €2-€2.20/kg in marts over the last few weeks, but have come back to €1.80-€1.90/kg in the last few days. Top call of the night went to an April 2019-born Charolais cross cow weighing 900kg. She was knocked down at €1,700 (€1.89/kg).

This February 2011-born cow weighed 790kg and sold for €1,570 (€1.98).

The next highest price was €1,660 for a June 2016-born Aberdeen Angus cow weighing 930kg (€1.78/kg). Lighter-quality cows were back at €1.50-€1.70/kg, with cows around the 700kg mark hitting prices of €1,200-€1,300. Lesser-quality cows requiring a lot of feeding were back at €1.30-€1.50/kg.

This October 2016-born cow weighed 740kg and sold for €1,560 (€2.10/kg).

There was also a reduced trade to NI. Live exports to NI for January are up 25% compared to 2020 levels. There were 1,985 cattle exported to NI for further feeding in January 2021 compared to 1,585 exported in January.

This May 2013-born Charolais cross weighed 930kg and sold for €1,640 (€1.76/kg).

There were 208 cattle exported to NI for direct slaughter for the week ending 31 January. This was down from 339 the week before.

This August 2013-born Limousin cross cow weighed 865kg and sold for €1,490 (€1.72/kg).

Elphin mart has a big number of heifers booked in ahead of Wednesday’s special spring show and sale. Over 800 heifers will go through the ring on Wednesday, with a number of choice lots entered for the sale.

This August 2014-born Charolais cow weighed 820kg and sold for €1,550 (€1.89/kg).

Elphin marts Gerry Connellan said: “The sale always attracts a huge amount of buyers every year from all over Ireland, Northern Ireland and the UK. Unfortunately, due to Brexit issues, we will be unable to export cattle to the UK direct from the sale. I’ve been on to the Department of Agriculture to find a resolution, but I don’t think there is anything can be done.

This April 2015-born Simmental cow weighed 695kg and sold for €1,340 (€1.93).

"The animals have to be resident on a farm for 40 days before they can be exported. It’s a big blow for us, as we always send a few double decker loads of heifers over to the UK from our special spring sales.”

This December 2006-born Limousin cow weighed 775kg and sold for €1,180 (€1.52/kg).

The sale starts at 11am and is live on martbids.ie.