While back slightly, store cattle were still in demand in Corrin Mart on Tuesday, with bullocks reaching over €2.50/kg.
Topping trade on Tuesday was a 467kg Charolais bullock born in 2019 which sold for €1,170 or €2.51/kg.
Speaking after the sale, mart manager Sean Leahy said: “Demand was good. We were definitely seeing trade back for plainer lots, but not for the better lots. Anything with a bit of colour made very good prices.”
Prices for light stores are holding well. Angus and Hereford continue to demand a premium and although back on the summer months are still averaging at over €1.80/kg.
Top price for bullocks from 300kg to 400kg was an Angus-cross weighing 390kg that sold for €790 (€2.03/kg).
This price for traditional-bred first-cross was maintained as the weights went up for stores suitable for feeding. Short-keep Angus and Herefords were back 10c/kg on this price, while, for fit cattle, the drop was around 5c/kg to sit at €1.76/kg.
As mentioned, continental-bred bullocks met a higher demand as numbers forward were limited. Charolais performed the best, with 400kg to 500kg bullocks selling for an average price of €2.22/kg.
Limousin stock had bigger numbers, but the majority of these weren’t full beef; rather first-cross from dairy. This meant that the average was reduced to below €2/kg. One of the full beef Limousin bullocks forward weighed 492kg and sold for €1,210 (€2.46/kg).
Heavier Limousin beef steers reached as high as €2.36/kg, while Charolais short-keep cattle topped with a 540kg bullock selling for €1,210 (€2.24/kg).
Angus, Hereford and Friesian again made up the majority of lighter heifer lots. Prices for Angus heifers from 300kg to 400kg were up nearly 15c/kg on their bullock comrades to settle at €1.94/kg. This dropped back to €1.87/kg for Herefords of the same weight, while Friesians met a good trade to average at just over €1.80/kg.
Moving into heifers from 400kg to 500kg, Limousin-bred stock dominated the prices.
Topping this section was a 485kg Limousin heifer which sold for €1,090 (€2.25/kg).
A number of good-quality Limousin heifers all secured around the €2.20/kg mark, resulting in a breed average of €2.08/kg.
Well-made fit heifers across breeds were able to achieve the €2/kg mark.
Camera at the Mart: breeding heifer tops €5.21/kg at Carrigallen show and sale