Camera at the Mart: beef breeds lead way in Thurles calf sale

There were 357 calves on offer in Mid-Tipp Mart in Thurles for the Co Tipperary mart’s weekly calf sale on Wednesday last.

Almost 200 of what was on offer were sired by an Angus bull and together with 70 Hereford-cross calves, they showed how dominant the two traditional beef breeds are, especially late in the season.

There was strong demand for them, with bull calves of both breeds trading for an average of €420/head, with a top price of €630.

As has been the case all spring, heifer prices are trailing behind. Last week’s sale resulted in Angus- and Hereford-cross heifers averaging €315/head.

The highest price paid for those breeds was €540.

Continental crosses made up most of the rest and they traded for up to €700.

It’s been a busy spring in Thurles and new manager Ciara Ryan is hopeful of seeing around 7,000 calves through the ring by the start of June.

“Trade was good with the majority of calves bought by shippers this week. Almost three-quarters of all calves went to them this week, but it’s only in the last three weeks or so that trade has been like that. It was very much 50:50 between them and farmers prior to that.

“More farmers came to the mart this spring, as, with the way prices were, it was hard to put a value on them at home and we’ve seen record numbers go through because of that.

“Because of the way last year finished, a lot of farmers used more beef AI and we’ve seen more Belgian Blue and Charolais calves in the yard earlier than other years. I think farmers are much more targeted in their breeding and cows they don’t want replacements from are getting a beef straw now.”