Monday’s sale at Elphin Mart was a special weanling bull sale, in conjunction with cows and sheep.
Mart manager Gerry Connellan said that there were 326 bulls on offer at the sale and demand was very strong. He said that the quality of stock was back slightly on last year, but, that said, there were some exceptional cattle on offer.
Gerry said that farmers, feeders and exports were in attendance and were active for various types of stock.
He added that those that were met with the strongest demand were all good-quality Charolais bulls, with Limousin prices running a little behind Charolais types.
Gerry said that there were a good number of Belgian Blue weanlings on offer also and that exporters were active for the better-quality types.
He added that from the very start of the sale, the trade was strong. The first pen of bulls entered into the ring were all sold and, overall, of the 326 bulls on offer, only 26 went home unsold. This translates into a 94% clearance rate.
At the upper end of the market, Gerry said that demand from feeders for heavy bulls was quite strong and prices were running well ahead of last year.
Bulls over 500kg sold mainly from €1,250 to €1,570/head. The highest price in the entire sale was a heavy bull weighing 515kg, which sold for €1,570 or €3.04/kg.
The majority of good-quality heavy bulls over 500kg sold from €1,200 to €1,350/head. Good-quality feeding bulls from 400kg to 500kg sold mainly from €1,160 to €1,250/head.
Gerry said that farmer buyers were very active for all good-quality bulls from 300kg to 400kg and these were dear.
The majority of the bulls on offer in that weight range were Charolais and Limousin types and these sold mainly from €900 to €950/head. Even some Angus bulls in the same weight range sold to €2.36/kg.
Gerry said that the cow trade was strong also, with prices running higher in the marts than in factories. Top-quality heavy cows over 800kg sold from €1,475 to €1,660, which was paid for a 920kg Belgian Blue cow.
Gerry said that the sheep sale saw tight numbers yet again and prices of heavy hoggets over 50kg ranged from €130 to €138.50/head.
Commission rates are 1.8% to the seller and €10 to the buyer.