Camera at the Mart: demand high in Clogher for store cattle

Factory agents and farmers alike were out in force in Clogher Mart, where all types were keenly sought after, from store bullocks to suckler cow-and-calf pairs, with just over 1,200 lots on offer.

Bullocks of mostly forward and finished type lots were met with firm prices.

Dairy-beef bullocks ready for slaughter saw prices as high as £4.50/kg being paid, with theses lots selling in the main from £3.90/kg to £4.20/kg, while lighter Angus and Hereford-cross types were back below the £3.90/kg figure, with £3.50/kg being the general rule of thumb.

While store bullock prices in the dairy-beef stock were lower than for finished animals on a price-per-kilo basis, the opposite was true for quality continental stores, with highs of £4.54/kg being paid for bullocks just over 500kg, while quality finished lots tipping the scales at over 600kg were 30p to 40p/kg behind this.

Heifers

Heifers were more plentiful in number.

Again, factory agents keen to fill quotas, as agents acting for feedlots ahead of Christmas and farmers were all active ringside.

Demand and price per kilo were sharpest for autumn 2024-born heifers that were just over one year old and tipping the scales in the low-400s, with these heifers selling up to £4.70/kg, with £4.20/kg to £4.50/kg being paid in the main for Charolais and Limousin-cross heifers of this type.

Yearling dairy-beef heifers were selling in the main from £3.40/kg to £3.60/kg, with most being lighter store types.

Short-keep continental and finished heifers sold between £3.60/kg and £3.80/kg, with prices above and below this reflecting quality and kill-out potential.

Factory agents were out in force for cull cows, with top-end cows competing on a price-per-kilo basis with prime fat heifers.

Prices of £4/kg were seen on several occasion for U grading cows with high kill-out potential, while several quality continentals also sold in the £3.80/kg to £4/kg range, though the majority of suckler-bred stock sold closer to £3.30/kg.

Top price in the cull cow ring was a 2022-born Belgian Blue cow weighing 1,000kg that sold for £4,240.

In the suckler ring, cow-calf pairs sold between £2,500 and £3,300, with age and quality factoring into price. Top price was in the sucklers, with a March 2023-born Charolais-cross cow and her heifer calf at foot selling for £4,800.