The increase in supply of traditional beef breed-cross calves continues, as eight out of every 10 calves traded over the last seven days were either Angus- or Hereford-crosses.
Indeed, over half of all calves (52%) were sired by Angus bulls, according to the Irish Cattle Breeding Federation (ICBF) calf price database.
Despite their increased market share, demand has remained strong for Angus-cross calves, with prices up across their four categories compared with last week.
Numbers are only in double digits for those aged between 10 and 20 days old, but they experienced larger price rises compared with older calves.
Angus-cross bull calves went up €30/head to €163, while heifers of the same age increased by €23/head to €96.
For those aged between 21 and 42 days, prices for Angus-cross bulls were up €10/head to €175, while heifers sold for €114/head, a lift of €6.
Coming from a higher price last week, Hereford-cross calves saw marginal changes compared with Angus-crosses this week. Heifer calves over three weeks of age were back €2/head to €125, while prices for the same age Hereford-cross bull calves went up €6/head to €189.
Buyer demand for Angus-cross calves saw their average price go up by €17/head to an average of €137. This resulted in them closing the gap on prices for Hereford-crosses to €10. The average price for Hereford-cross calves went up by €5/head to €147.
Hovering around 6% of all calves, Friesian bulls saw another lift in price this week, as those aged between three and six weeks of age averaged €87, up €10 compared with the previous seven days.
Helped by smaller numbers, demand remains very solid for continental-cross calves, as farmer buyers continue to keep a good floor under trade.
Charolais- and Limousin-cross bulls aged over three weeks both saw a good bounce in their prices. Charolais-cross bull calves were up €61/head to €284, while prices for Limousin-cross bulls were up €37/head to €236.
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