Mart managers along the suckler frontiers of the west are reporting levels of farmer positivity not witnessed in decades.
The lift in weanling prices brought on by beef finisher price confidence and buoyant exporter activity is stalling – or even reversing – the years-long decline of suckler cow numbers in many parts, they say.
Marts are also seeing the boost to 2025’s suckler trade sparking a renewed interest in suckler farming among younger generations, who can now expect a margin for the effort of calving down cows and bringing a calf along to weanling.
“There was no money in sucklers when you had to sell weanlings for €1,000 or less. When you can get that weanling sold for €2,000 or over, you have money to keep after the costs of keeping the cow are paid,” said manager of Castleisland Mart Neilus McAuliffe. According to McAuliffe, the rising tide of the weanling trade can be put down to strong weanling exports and his outlook for the remainder of 2026 is that exports will shows no signs of slowing.
“We are now seeing younger part-time farmers take a day off work on a Wednesday to come in and get bulling heifers, that is something that just wasn’t there before,” he said.
“You can really see this holding cow numbers and setting the sector up to take back some of the ground that had been lost. I would say that the fall in sucklers is over, around these parts it seems anyways.”
In Headford, Co Galway, mart manager Noel Considine sees the absence of what had until recently become a semi-regular feature on the sales calendar – the suckler dispersal sale – as a positive signal for the wider sector.
“There hasn’t been a clearance sale for 12 months and even the number of suckler cows passing through the ring are back. Farmers are only looking to sell weanlings and it is exporters who are looking to buy,” Considine explained.
“Calving the suckler cow is the viable option now for the young farmer. Setting out to buy cattle is gone too dear so the younger generation’s interest in sucklers is on the up.”
“It’s great to see and hopefully it will last.”
However, there are fears that the improvement in suckler farmer fortunes may have been too long in the offing in some parts of the country.
Challenges remain
“The prices in sucklers have been great, don’t get me wrong, and I do not want to come across as any way negative, but I would fear that the turnaround has come too late,” said Eimear McGuinness, manager of Donegal Mart.
“Suckler numbers in Donegal are way back. I would say that the hardships of farming here with weather always a month behind the rest of the country adds significant cost, so we seemed to fall off that bit quicker.
Most farmers who stuck with sucklers during successive years of poor prices look set to stay in the sector with the arrival of decent prices. \ Donal O'Leary
“Now, the trade is very positive for those who are still in sucklers and every bit of it is needed to deal with rising costs. The farmers still there look like they will continue to do well which should see the numbers that are there stabilise.”
From Co Mayo’s dairy pocket around Ballinrobe, mart manager Teresa Gibsey said that the past decade has seen suckling loose ground to dairy.
“But there certainly is more interest in sucklers recently and we wouldn’t expect suckler cow numbers to drop any further,” she said.
Perhaps indicative of the contribution of sucklers to the next generation’s bottom line, despite the recent positivity on prices, Gibsey also noted:
“The younger suckler farmers around here are part-time and with mart sales held during the week, there aren’t many younger faces to be seen around the ring. They just can’t take a day off to head to the mart.”
Mart managers along the suckler frontiers of the west are reporting levels of farmer positivity not witnessed in decades.
The lift in weanling prices brought on by beef finisher price confidence and buoyant exporter activity is stalling – or even reversing – the years-long decline of suckler cow numbers in many parts, they say.
Marts are also seeing the boost to 2025’s suckler trade sparking a renewed interest in suckler farming among younger generations, who can now expect a margin for the effort of calving down cows and bringing a calf along to weanling.
“There was no money in sucklers when you had to sell weanlings for €1,000 or less. When you can get that weanling sold for €2,000 or over, you have money to keep after the costs of keeping the cow are paid,” said manager of Castleisland Mart Neilus McAuliffe. According to McAuliffe, the rising tide of the weanling trade can be put down to strong weanling exports and his outlook for the remainder of 2026 is that exports will shows no signs of slowing.
“We are now seeing younger part-time farmers take a day off work on a Wednesday to come in and get bulling heifers, that is something that just wasn’t there before,” he said.
“You can really see this holding cow numbers and setting the sector up to take back some of the ground that had been lost. I would say that the fall in sucklers is over, around these parts it seems anyways.”
In Headford, Co Galway, mart manager Noel Considine sees the absence of what had until recently become a semi-regular feature on the sales calendar – the suckler dispersal sale – as a positive signal for the wider sector.
“There hasn’t been a clearance sale for 12 months and even the number of suckler cows passing through the ring are back. Farmers are only looking to sell weanlings and it is exporters who are looking to buy,” Considine explained.
“Calving the suckler cow is the viable option now for the young farmer. Setting out to buy cattle is gone too dear so the younger generation’s interest in sucklers is on the up.”
“It’s great to see and hopefully it will last.”
However, there are fears that the improvement in suckler farmer fortunes may have been too long in the offing in some parts of the country.
Challenges remain
“The prices in sucklers have been great, don’t get me wrong, and I do not want to come across as any way negative, but I would fear that the turnaround has come too late,” said Eimear McGuinness, manager of Donegal Mart.
“Suckler numbers in Donegal are way back. I would say that the hardships of farming here with weather always a month behind the rest of the country adds significant cost, so we seemed to fall off that bit quicker.
Most farmers who stuck with sucklers during successive years of poor prices look set to stay in the sector with the arrival of decent prices. \ Donal O'Leary
“Now, the trade is very positive for those who are still in sucklers and every bit of it is needed to deal with rising costs. The farmers still there look like they will continue to do well which should see the numbers that are there stabilise.”
From Co Mayo’s dairy pocket around Ballinrobe, mart manager Teresa Gibsey said that the past decade has seen suckling loose ground to dairy.
“But there certainly is more interest in sucklers recently and we wouldn’t expect suckler cow numbers to drop any further,” she said.
Perhaps indicative of the contribution of sucklers to the next generation’s bottom line, despite the recent positivity on prices, Gibsey also noted:
“The younger suckler farmers around here are part-time and with mart sales held during the week, there aren’t many younger faces to be seen around the ring. They just can’t take a day off to head to the mart.”
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