Peak weanling season is now passed, with marts beginning to move weanling sales back to general cattle sale days or moving to biweekly sales.
It’ll be a year of mixed emotions – weanling producers will feel hard done by in comparison to last year’s price, while finishers will state that excessive weanling and store prices in the 2025 season eroded any hope of a profit being turned and that 2026 prices are more akin to what we should expect.
MartBids analysis has shown a major fall-off in average prices between 2025 and 2026.
Looking at averages on a week-by-week basis for the months of September and October of each year, an average price difference of 63c/kg is seen between the two seasons.
2025 showed an average price of €5.70/kg paid across nine weeks of the main weanling season for bulls weighing 300kg to 400kg, with €5.07/kg the corresponding figure for 2026, an 11% or 63c/kg cut.
Top-end weanlings have seen prices further reduced, with analysis showing a fall-off in price to the tune of 78c/kg between 2025 and 2026, with €6.62/kg paid in 2025 in comparison with an average price of €5.84/kg paid in 2026.
On a per-head basis, this leaves average-quality weanlings weighing 350kg back €220.50/head on 2025 levels, with the top third of weanlings seeing a price difference of €273/head in the calendar year.
The price curve remained relatively flat across both seasons, with fluctuations correcting themselves in a short period of time, though the average figure calculated does not take into account fluctuations in weanling numbers presented to marts.
Heifer weanlings have seen a similar fate. Across September and October 2025, average-quality heifer weanlings sold to an average of €5.38/kg on a week-by-week basis, with this price being slashed to the tune of 64c/kg to €4.74/kg for the 2026 season.
The top third of heifers quality-wise saw 62c/kg shaved off prices, with €6.26/kg and €5.64/kg paid in 2025 and 2026 respectively.
However, prices are significantly ahead of the 2024 season, with 2026 prices ahead of 2024 to the tune of 45%.
Average-quality bull weanlings weighing 300kg to 400kg saw 2024 average weekly prices of €3.48/kg paid across the months of September and October, a price difference of €1.59/kg or €556.50/head behind that of 2026 prices.
Across the three years, average-quality bull weanlings weighing 350kg traded at €1,218/head in 2024, €1,995 in 2025 and €1,774.50 in 2026.
Across a three-year average, 2026 has seen bull weanlings trading at €112/head ahead of the three-year average based off MartBids weekly averages.
Looking at the trade this week, 300kg to 400kg weanling bulls remain at last week’s price of €4.59/kg, with no change seen in the top third of bulls either at €5.40/kg. Heavier bulls from 400kg to 450kg saw 10c/kg shaved off average prices, leaving them trading at €4.27/kg.
Lighter heifer weanlings from 200kg to 300kg are back 7c/kg on the week to leave them trading at €4.22/kg, with heavier counterparts from 300kg to 400kg back 6c/kg to €4.38/kg.
