A total of 418 animals filled Tullamore Mart on Monday evening, with 378 of them finding new homes. The majority of these lots were weanlings with a special sale of suckler cows also taking place.
Trade for the 300-plus weanlings proved quite strong throughout, with the online bidding system not seeming to affect trade at all, particularly for better-quality lots.
Speaking after the sale, GVM Tullamore Mart manager Antoinette Daly said: “We had a very good clearance, with most lots in the yard sold. There was a good mixture of weanlings on offer, with a strong trade for those better lots. We do miss the buyers ringside, but so far it hasn’t really affected trade.”
Light stock continue to dominate the prices and this was again the case on Monday, with the top price coming for a 245kg bull calf – a spring-born Belgian Blue bull that sold for €780 or €3.18/kg. A slightly lighter Limousin bull calf at 240kg sold for €3/kg (€720).
Moving up weights to 300kg to 400kg, in the region of €2.50/kg was freely available for the upper-end weanlings, but rose to €2.80/kg for the very top lots.
Charolais dominated the male prices in this category, leading with a 350kg bull which sold for €980 (€2.80/kg). Similarly, a 315kg Charolais female sold for €880 (€2.79/kg). Overall, Charolais had the highest average of just shy of €2.40/kg.
A small entry of good-quality Simmental weanlings secured a number of top prices as the weight divisions moved up. Topping prices for bull weanlings between 400kg and 500kg was a 450kg bull that sold for €1,120 (€2.49/kg). Just behind this, another bull weighing 445kg sold for €1,100 (€2.47/kg). These prices helped to boost the breed average to the highest at €2.28/kg.
Charolais bull weanlings over 400kg came into a respectful €2.24/kg, while Limousin bulls sold for an average of €2.17/kg.
Heifers weighing in excess of 400kg were a lot fewer on the ground, with prices generally back about 10c/kg on those of the bulls of the same weight. Securing the top price in this section was a Limousin heifer weighing 410kg that sold for €990 (€2.41/kg). This price was matched when a 410kg Charolais heifer sold for the same price.
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