A strong show of 517 cattle were presented for sale on Friday last in Roscrea Mart, with a 94% clearance recorded.
While well-fleshed finished cattle were still in keen demand and commanded solid prices in comparison to factory gate prices, there was a notable easing of store and plainer cattle, particularly in the bullocks, while average- and poorer-quality culls cows also took a hit.
Mart manager Michael Harty noted: “Numbers were up, but trade was that bit tougher. The shortage of grass is really beginning to bite and is stalling people from buying cattle.”
In the cull cows, while a strong average of €3.08/kg was recorded, this was 11c/kg shy of last week’s price, while the bottom third of cows fell by 18c/kg on last week, trading at €2.59/kg.
The majority of cows on offer were Friesian or dairy beef types, with better-quality suckler beef types selling from €3.39/kg to €3.88/kg.
Heifers were a relatively solid trade for the lightest and heaviest types, with midweight stores seeing a price reduction.
Light stores weighing 350kg to 400kg saw a lift of 11c/kg this week, selling at €3.84/kg on average, with a significant increase in the top third which traded at €4.48/kg, up 45c/kg.
Their heavier counterparts in the 400kg to 500kg category were a different story, falling by 31c/kg this week to sit at an average of €3.58/kg, with the majority of heifers on offer falling into this weight band.
Both the top and bottom third of heifers of this weight fell by 48c/kg and 29c/kg respectively.
More forward stores and finished dairy-beef types didn’t see such significant cuts, with average prices 14c/kg back on last week at €3.66/kg.
Heavy heifers were a more solid trade overall, with a 2c/kg increase on average-quality lots to see them selling at €3.71/kg.
Bullocks were a tougher trade, with price decreases seen universally across quality and weights, while numbers overall were up on last week.
Light stores from 350kg to 400kg fell by 26c/kg to trade at €3.59/kg of an average, while the top and bottom third of bullocks fell 28c/kg and 29c/kg respectively.
Stores weighing 400kg to 500kg were a sharper trade, selling to an average of €3.75/kg, back 13c/kg on the week prior.
Heavy bullocks weighing 600kg and over saw just a slight fall of 5c/kg on the week prior, trading at an average of €3.69/kg, with the top third trading at €3.96/kg, down 4c/kg on the week prior.
Topping the trade on the day was a purebred 2023-born Hereford bull which tipped the scales at 1,005kg. He went on to sell for €3,260 or €3.24/kg.
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