Camera at the Mart: demand from home and abroad for heavy calves in Bandon

There were a lot of similarities between the calf trade in Bandon Mart this week and that of the same sale 12 months ago.

Numbers were up by almost 50 calves - with 1,095 going through the ring in the west Cork venue at Monday’s sale - and prices were tracking along a similar line to last year as well, especially for bull calves.

As ever, Angus- and Hereford-crosses dominated proceedings, with four out of every five calves on offer sired by a traditional beef breed bull.

It was plain to see that there was exceptional demand for the heavier calf that is close to grass, with those weighing around or over 80kg trading for between €600 and €700 and up to and over €800 paid for bulls from both traditional beef-breeds and continental bulls.

Plainer beef-cross bulls of similar weights were making up to between €550 and €600, with the top end of the trade for beef-cross heifer calves hitting into those prices too. Lighter heifer calves generally traded for between €300 and €450.

Following the sale, auctioneer Denis O’Donoghue said: “There was a good shot of reared calves there and it was mostly shippers, with a few buyers from up the country buying too. The home buyers are going more for heifer calves at the moment, as bull prices are gone so high.

"There’s very little difference between the home and shipper trade at the moment, for bulls anyway.

"You’d see calves come in that aren’t eligible for export and there’s fierce competition for them from buyers from the midlands as they know shippers aren’t bidding on those. That’s keeping a good floor under bull calf prices.”

Lighter calves were scarce, with very few under 55kg on offer. It was a tougher trade for those under that weight range, especially those under 50kg, with less appetite from buyers to bring through light calves this late in the season.

They were generally trading up to €250, with a share failing to break the €200 mark.