Elphin Mart's information evening for local farmers focussed on how they could prepare cattle for the autumn sales.
Speakers on Tuesday included editor of the Irish Farmers Journal Adam Woods; local exporter Derek Maxwell; mart manager Ciaran Lynch and Elphin Mart chair Bernard Donohue.
Key learnings from the night included the importance of vaccinating weanlings against respiratory diseases, with all parties forecasting a positive but cautious outlook across the weanling trade for the coming season.
Ciaran Lynch talked about the trade over the last 18 months and how 2025 was a great year for suckler farmers in the region. He commended the quality of cattle that farmers brought to Elphin Mart and encouraged farmers to keep breeding high-quality cattle.
He noticed a positive trend all year for cull cows and encouraged farmers to bring their cattle around the ring and let the agents fight it out to buy them.
Lynch said: “On Monday we had a great sale for them... and the cows are a great trade all year."
He added that the quality of cows farmers were selling had to be noted, "good continental cows are able to sell from €4/kg to €4.50/kg”.
Bounce in trade
“There was a slump in trade for those heavy cattle from April onwards and there are lads who have lost money on cattle bought last harvest; it's good to see a better bounce in trade the last two weeks, with factory agents eager to source cattle.”
Derick Maxwell also commended farmers on the quality of cattle produced in the region.
“We are producing the best cattle in the world and that’s why we have an export market and farmers need to keep producing these quality weanlings; a small bit of fine tuning is all that’s needed to maximise the health of these cattle. I would ask any farmer to give their cattle a vaccination against pneumonia and IBR, as well as a dose for worms and creep them for a few weeks,” he said.
He added: “We know when we buy vaccinated cattle – they will motor on and we won’t see health problems down the line. The quality of cattle is our selling point and if we can ensure they arrive and thrive for buyers with no health problems, we can keep these markets going.”
He had a positive outlook for the upcoming weanling season with demand for high-quality bulls now moved to north Africa – away from continental Europe. Countries like Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia were seeking Limousin and Belgian Blue bulls, weighing from 350kg to 420kg of U and E grade.
Elphin was always known for its positive export market to Northern Ireland, with Lynch offering some clarity around the new TB rules effecting cull cows and over 36 months male cattle.
“There was confusion around who can buy what back in April when these rules came in. It's fairly straightened out now. I have noticed more cows landing into the mart here inside a 30-day test and farmers will have to plan around their herd test if they want to have the northern buyers, but we're seeing no difference in the trade for CFU-only cattle. We have strong feedlot buyers for all cows and, even the last couple weeks, there are CFU only cows making over €4/kg,” Lynch said.
Adam Woods gave farmers an overview of the current new CAP proposals and what a new CAP could look like, but stressed it was early days yet.
He urged farmers to pay close attention over the next couple of months. Ireland holding the EU presidency over the next six months was a positive thing concerning CAP discussions, he added.