In Thursday’s general cattle sale at Ballymote mart in Sligo, an entry of 349 cattle sold to a yard clearance of 94%.

Also on the day was a special autumn-born weanling sale, with 150 weanlings on offer.

Shippers dominated the weanling ring, buying over half the bulls on offer.

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“We had a great yard of cattle here with a good show of bullocks with demand still strong for those quality-forward continental bullocks with plenty of buyers for Angus-cross cattle," mart manager David Faughnan said.

He added: “We had a good show of weanlings; farmers would be more spring calving up these parts, but the autumn-born weanlings on offer sold very well.”

“We had over 120 bulls on offer and the tops of these weighing between 300kg and 400kg, sold to an average of €5.49/kg.”

Best average

“Bulls weighing between 400kg and 450kg had the best average of the day, with these lads selling to an average of €4.86/kg – with the top third averaging an impressive €5.62/kg. While shippers weren’t as keen on the bulls over 450kg, they still sold very well to a number of farmers.

"The top third of these averaged €5.22/kg, but the standout figure was the bottom third. They averaged €4.21/kg, which was the best price per kg across all the bottom third of weight categories, showing good confidence from farmers,” Faughnan added.

“This confidence was driven by the bullock trade on the day, your top-quality continental bullock selling to just shy of €5/kg. There was over 60 bullocks weighing over 600kg and the top third of these averaged €4.27/kg. The bottom third averaged €3.55/kg and was largely made up of dairy-beef bullocks.

“Heifer weanlings topped at over €3,500 but there were lower numbers on offer. Coming into September, we will see more farmers buying and the heifer weanlings will start appearing then. Top-quality heifers are still making over the €5/kg, with your plainer heifer weanling back closer to €4/kg,” Faughnan said.

In pictures:

This Limousin-cross bull weighing 445kg and born 24/09/25, sold for €2,540 (€5.71/kg).

This Charolais-cross bull weighing 440kg and born 04/10/25, sold for €2,000 (€4.55/kg).

This Charolais-cross bull weighing 465kg and born 06/10/25, sold for €2,580 (€5.55/kg).

This Limousin-cross bull weighing 385kg and born 11/10/25, sold for €1,700 (€4.42/kg).

This Limousin-cross bull weighing 385kg and born 21/10/25, sold for €1,800 (€4.68/kg).

This Limousin-cross bull weighing 460kg and born 07/10/25, sold for €2,360 (€5.13/kg).

This Limousin-cross bull weighing 375kg and born 12/11/25, sold for €1,440 (€3.84/kg).

This Limousin-cross bull weighing 430kg and born 09/10/25, sold for €1,800 (€4.19/kg).

This Simmental-cross bull weighing 415kg and born 20/09/25, sold for €1,740 (€4.19/kg).

This Limousin-cross bull weighing 430kg and born 16/12/25, sold for €2,000 (€4.65/kg).

This Belgian Blue-cross heifer weighing 280kg and born 10/03/26, sold for €3,550 (€12.67/kg).

This Charolais-cross heifer weighing 345kg and born 22/11/25, sold for €1,780 (€5.16/kg).

This Charolais-cross heifer weighing 360kg and born 07/12/25, sold for €2,020 (€5.61/kg).

This Charolais-cross heifer weighing 335kg and born 31/10/25, sold for €1,320 (€3.94/kg).

This Limousin-cross heifer weighing 340kg and born 05/01/26, sold for €1,800 (€5.29/kg).

This Limousin-cross heifer weighing 310kg and born 26/09/25, sold for €1,170 (€3.77/kg).

This Charolais-cross heifer weighing 325kg and born 15/08/25, sold for €1,340 (€4.12/kg).

This Charolais-cross heifer weighing 445kg and born 20/12/25, sold for €2,000 (€4.49/kg).

This Angus-cross heifer weighing 315kg and born 15/10/25, sold for €1,080 (€3.43/kg).