Kilkenny Mart hosted its biggest sale of the year on Thursday, with nearly 1,000 cattle packing the yards.

The mart would usually see this peak in March or April, but with the cancellations of all marts due to COVID-19, a backlog is now appearing.

Bidders also relayed a message of more confidence in the online and ringside bidding in operation since last week.

Big entry

A big entry of dry cows met a steady demand, with average prices paid just shy of €1.50/kg.

Heavier continental-type cows saw a stronger demand, with the top lots coming into €1.90/kg to €2.10/kg.

Top of these was a Charolais-cross cow weighing 715kg, which sold for €1,490.

Looking at the heifer trade, top lots maintained their prices well, with some coming into €2.50/kg.

That said, the large entry meant that the bottom tier of stock were harder sold across all weight sections.

Lighter, younger heifers fit for a summer at grass or breeding took all the top prices. Leading the way was a 13-month-old Simmental-cross heifer weighing 420kg which sold for €1,080.

Steers

Steers were a similar story, while top lots held their money well due to the big numbers forward lesser lots paid the price.

Across the weight divisions, prices were back 10c to 20c/kg on the week. The exception to this was the factory-fit bullocks that held their price of about €2/kg.

The top end of lighter bullocks were also hitting the €2.50/kg mark, with a top price of €2.54/kg for a group of 13-month-old Limousin-cross steers weighing 393kg on average.