Camera at the Mart: traditional breeds take over in Bandon

There were almost 1,200 calves on offer in Bandon Mart for this Monday's sale, keeping calf numbers at a similar level to the last two years.

In all, 1,169 2026-born animals went through the ring at the west Cork venue this week and, combined, Angus and Hereford-crosses - along with Friesians - made up 90% of what was on offer.

Demand from shippers and calf buyers kept pace with recent weeks, with a small bit of softening for lighter calves and heifers.

When it came to bulls, anywhere from €6/kg to €7/kg was the going rate for most of those over 65kg. This saw a lot of bull calves sell for between €500 and €650.

Lighter bull calves closer to 50kg were scarcer this week, but a good share made from €350 to €450.

Heifer prices

Heifer prices seem to have improved a little for both breeds, but they generally tended to be back about €70/head to €100/head compared with bulls of the same weight.

While prices for bull calves of both traditional beef breeds have been running ahead of last year’s prices so far this spring, they appear to be slipping to what they were last year.

A good group of Angus-cross bulls weighed 90kg sold for €630 - a year ago the same weight calf sold for €670.

Friesian bulls were in the minority this week, but prices have remained steady for them. Most traded for between €200 and €350 for younger calves, while reared calves exceeded €450 on occasion.

Continental-cross calves were very thin on the ground this week and for the most part, they traded along similar lines to Angus- and Hereford-crosses.