Athenry mart’s show and sale of weanling bulls on Thursday witnessed a sharp trade with prices averaging north of €5.50/kg. Live exporters were keen for export-type bulls and faced competition from farmers/specialist finishers for good-quality continental bulls.

About 30% of the weanling bull entry weighed from 200kg to 300kg. The average price paid was €5.85/kg with the top third of bulls selling from €6.40/kg to a top price per kilo of €7.43/kg for a six-month old 280kg Charolais bull. The average weight of bull in this category was 253kg giving an average price per head of €1,483.

Over 60% of bulls on offer weighed from 300kg to 395kg. The average price in this weight category was €5.64/kg. Prices for some plainer-quality bulls, including Angus and Hereford-crosses bred from the dairy herd ranged from €3.94/kg to €4.67/kg while medium-quality lots sold from €4.90/kg to €5.60/kg and good-quality bulls from €5.90/kg to €6.70/kg. The average weight of bull in this category was 344kg and at an average price of €5.64/kg delivered an average price of €1,940 per head.

The reminder of bulls weighed from 400kg to 465kg in the main with a couple of bulls weighing upwards of 500kg. Prices here averaged €4.91/kg and with an average liveweight of 435kg resulted in the average price paid for bulls in this weight bracket at €2,135/hd.

There was a smaller entry of heifers due to the heifer show and sale taking place the previous week and a higher number of dairy crossbreds. Weanling heifers weighing from 200kg to 330kg sold on average for €5.31/kg or an average price of €1,285 for 242kg. Prices for plainer-quality lots ranged from €4/kg to €4.80/kg with quality continental heifers selling from €5.11/kg to €6.11/kg.

Heavier heifers weighing from 300kg to 360kg averaged €3.97/kg. Angus-cross heifers ranged in price from €3.60/kg to €4/kg with a smaller number of continental-cross heifers selling from €4.19/kg to €5.49/kg.

The keen appetite for Angus-cross heifers was also seen in the demand for lighter Angus and Hereford heifers and bulls bred from the dairy herd. Cattle weighing from 125kg to 170kg sold from €760 to €900 per head or from €5.20/kg to €6/kg while those weighing from 195kg to 220kg sold from €800 to €1,100 (€4.26/kg to €5.70/kg).