The sun was belting down in Kerry on Wednesday and the heat from the day continued into the evening and matched the sizzling prices that were paid in Gortatlea Mart.

A special E and U grade weanling heifer show and sale was complemented by the presence of a selection of show heifers and prices for them ranged from €6/kg to a top of €15.47/kg.

Top price of €5,800 was paid for September 2025-born Belgian Blue-cross heifer that weighed 375kg.

There were over 400 weanlings on offer, with the general run of heifers made from €4.50/kg to €5.50/kg.

Following the sale, manager Maurice Brosnan said: “Trade was serious all round. It was a flyer. The general run of heifers are making from €4.50/kg to €5/kg and for nice well-bred animals they’re heading for €5.50/kg or close enough. Quality wins out big time.

"Those breeding and show heifers moved on another gear, they’re a different league. The heat was sizzling and prices too. They bring a crowd of their own and it was great to see so many young people around the place for the sale.”

Farm survey profit margin

Commenting on the recent release of the Teagasc national farm survey, he said: “It’s easy to see how the profit margin has increased with the prices that people were getting with their stock and the future is bright if it stays like that. It was a long time coming.

"Farming is changing with less and less farmers and farms getting bigger. You could have three farmers come here with nearly 300 cattle between them to a sale now, especially a dairy farmer that was locked up with TB and comes with a lot of calves. It might have taken 40 or 50 farmers to have that number between them before.

"Beef farmers are a bit more active now and I was lucky to have a few of them looking to restock, especially when shippers weren’t that active. That lift in beef price, when it’s going up there’s a bit of confidence and it helps trade a lot.”

He advised suckler farmers to keep an eye on the trade ahead of the autumn weanling selling peak and added that demand is stronger for weanlings under 400kg.

He said: “Bring out lighter calves going forward. There's better shipping demand for them, but I’d tell people to definitely concentrate on quality and keep improving your cow if you can.”