On Thursday evening, Gort Mart hosted its first show and sale of autumn-born weanlings, with Belgian Blue-cross weanlings on offer.

Next week's sale will see Limousin-cross weanlings at the mart.

Like the show cattle scene all summer, it has seen a surge of interest in the last number of years, with sellers coming from far and wide, with a super yard of quality lots on offer.

The heifer ring remains the standout, with many heifers selling over €3,000.

In total, eight heifers sold for over €5,000, while a further fiver heifers sold between €4,000 and €5,000, with no shortage of customers.

Fifteen heifers sold between €3,000 and €4,000, while many more heifers were knocking on the door of €3,000. The sale topped at €7,800 for the champion heifer weighing 470kg.

Overall, Belgian Blue-cross weanling heifers weighing between 300kg and 400kg averaged €6.04/kg, while the Belgian Blue-cross heifers weighing between 400kg and 500kg averaged an impressive €6.94/kg.

Colour and quality mattered and where both clicked on a heifer, there was plenty of buyers for them, with over €10/kg paid on many occasions.

Weanling bulls were in strong demand, with Belgian Blue-cross bulls weighing between 300kg and 400kg averaging €5.26/kg, with top lots crossing €6/kg on the night.

Heaver Blue-cross bulls averaged €4.73/kg, again with many top lots knocking on the door of €6/kg.