Friday last saw Drumshanbo mart in Co Leitrim host its weekly cattle sale, where almost 250 animals went under the hammer. This figure was down on previous weeks, with supplies tightening due to the recent good weather.

Dry cows

Ring 1 saw dry cows, bulls and sucklers go under the hammer.

Cows remained strong, with factory-fit types meeting with solid trade. Lots weighing 750kg and over made an average of €1.95/kg.

Cows for feeding met a slightly tougher trade, with these averaging €1.70/kg for those above 600kg, while cows weighing under 600kg were hit the hardest, averaging €1.55/kg.

This Charolais cow weighed 595kg and sold for €1,150 (€1.93/kg).

Sucklers

Sucklers met with continued strong trade, with premium prices being paid for the top lots. The top price on the night was €1,680 for a charolais cow and calf.

The overall suckler average was €1,300 per cow/calf outfit, with some poorer-quality offerings dragging down the average.

“The number of moves is a big thing on sucklers and we saw tonight it affected some of them badly,” mart manager Eoin Kane said.

This Charolais heifer weighed 285kg and sold for €630 (€2.21/kg).

Heifers

Heifers also met a slightly easier trade than previous weeks.

Those weighing 450kg or above made an average of €2.35/kg. Dairy-bred heifers with similar weights made slightly less on average at €2.25/kg.

Heifers around the 350kg mark saw an average of €2.35/kg. Lighter heifers weighing around 250kg saw the best trade, with most of these averaging in excess of €2.60/kg.

This 2020-born Charolais bullock weighed 320kg and sold for €790 (€2.47/kg).

Bullocks

With a smaller number of cattle on display, quality took a hit in the bullock ring this week.

Prices reflected this drop in quality, with bulls weighing 450kg or above making an average of €2.35/kg – some top-quality continental bulls in this bracket hit over €2.50/kg.

Bulls were at their best trade for those above 350kg, with the top bulls in this category making up to €2.65/kg, with an average of €2.45/kg.

Lighter bulls around 250kg saw the worst trade of all, which was largely due to many dairy-bred bulls been shown in this weight bracket. These bulls struggled and met an average of €1.85/kg, with the top examples making €2.45/kg.

This 2020-born Charolais bull weighed 385kg and sold for €1,000 (€2.60/kg).

Drumshanbo mart holds its weekly sheep sales on Thursday evenings at 7pm and holds its weekly cattle sales on Friday evenings at 7pm. All sales are live on the Martbids app.

This Charolais bull weighed 585kg and sold for €1,600 (€2.74/kg).

This 2020-born Hereford bullock weighed 280kg and sold for €580 (€2.07/kg).

This November 2020-born Charolais bull weighed 220kg and sold for €700 (€3.18/kg).