Despite milk price experiencing a downward trajectory, there was plenty of confidence around the ring in Corrin Mart on Friday last at the Cork mart’s annual dairy sale.
A total of 149 heifers went through the ring, with 137 sold.
The vast majority of heifers sold from €1,800 to €2,300 and this is reflected in an average price of €2,065, up €405 on the same sale last year and €665 for the 2023 sale.
At the upper end of the trade, a top price of €2,720 was paid out on two occasions for heifers that were due to calve around the end of January from the herd of John Kelly, Ballylanders, Co Limerick.
Speaking after the sale, mart manager Sean Leahy said: “You can see it in the average price; it was a very level trade across the board.
Ticking the boxes
“Any heifer that ticked the boxes when it came to production figures were close to 500kg and calving before St Patrick’s Day were making €2,000-plus freely.
“Anything that was missing out on that €2,000 cut-off mark tended to be lighter in weight of calving later in the spring.
“They were a very even group of stock and the quality was exceptional, even a shade ahead of last year. Heifers had a few extra kg of milk solids.
“There are regular sellers that target this sale. They know what the customer wants and they are delivering. We’d have a lot of familiar faces on both sides of the ring.
“I’d say the average weight of heifers was up by maybe 40kg on 12 months ago. They looked ahead physically and that showed on the scales. The good year had a good role to play in that.”
When it came to buyers, he said that with an odd few exceptions, most were looking for smaller numbers.
“There was a big spread of buyers, with a small number bought for export. Two buyers got 16 and 12, but it was single figures after that.
“We had plenty of customers for smaller numbers of good-quality heifers. TB is still a big driver of demand and some farmers are culling harder with the good dry cow prices, so they’re confident when it comes to replacing them.
“Overall, I think dairy replacements are scarcer than people realise and I think dairy stock will remain tight into the new year and they will remain a firm trade.
“There is an air of caution with milk price the way it is, but we don’t see a major run of dairy sales next spring. We have a clearance sale of 100 cows on Friday 12 Decembe,r but after that it’s slacker than other years.”
