A mixture of shipper activity and farmer buying resulted in extremely strong demand for calves.
Shippers were very active for dairy-bred calves, with farmers leaving the hand in the ring for the continentals.
All calves were generating interest and bids. Shipping-fit Friesian bull calves made €150/head with little effort from the auctioneer. Friesian heifers made close to double that.
Beef calves from the dairy herd were a strong trade too. Angus cross and Hereford cross bulls and heifers did not go unsold. Bulls made up to €300/head, with the heifers not far off that mark.
Belgian Blue bulls from the dairy herd readily made over €300.
Continental calves were in high demand too. The standout sale was a month-old Charolais bull which had the hammer fall at €600.
This pure-bred but not registered Charolais bull calf was born on 30 March and sold for €600.
This Angus cross bull calf was born on 26 March and sold for €310.
This Hereford cross bull calf was born on 9 April and sold for €250.
This Belgian Blue cross bull calf was born on 6 April and sold for €365.
This Belgian Blue cross bull calf was born on 3 April and sold for €290.
This Friesian cross bull calf was born on 5 April and sold for €95.
Weanlings make €3/kg
There was also a very strong demand in the weanling bull ring. Charolais and Limousin cross weanlings with a bit of weight on them regularly made €3/kg.
There were less in the way of traditional breeds but they also generated interest from buyers at the ring.
This October 2016-born Charolais cross bull weighed 315kg and sold for €985 (€3.12/kg).
This June 2016-born Charolais cross bull weighed 420/kg and made €1,000 (€2.38/kg).
This June 2016-born Limousin cross bull weighed 280kg and made €850 (€3.03/kg).
This May 2016-born Charolais cross bull weighed 360kg and sold for €1,080 (3/kg).
This November 2016-born Charolais cross bull weighed 300kg and sold for €970 (€3.23/kg).