Balla Mart hosted its weekly sale of cattle on Saturday, attracting an entry of over 430 head. Trade throughout remained strong, with over 91% of lots finding new homes.

Numbers of factory-fit cattle remain in short supply, but those in attendance continue to dominate prices.

Fed heifers reaching 600kg-plus saw average price back around 10c/kg on the week, but still standing at an impressive €2.36/kg. Those better-quality heifers saw the average jump to €2.50/kg.

Steers of the same weight saw a 5c/kg rise on the week, but still back 6c/kg on heifers. Top price here was €2.52/kg for a two-year-old Charolais bullock weighing 650kg.

Lighter bullocks saw the biggest jump on the week, with prices up 17c to 22c/kg. Good-quality steers sub-500kg recorded an impressive average of over €2.85/kg. This was led with a call of €1,430 for a 450kg Limousin bullock born May 2020 (€3.18/kg).

Short-keep lots between 500kg and 600kg jumped 7c, with average for the top third of lots sold hitting €2.55/kg.

A good entry of suckler cows recorded an average just shy of €1,400, moving up to nearly €1,750 for better-quality lots.

This 495kg Charolais bullock, born spring 2020, sold for €1,360 (€2.75/kg).

This 18-month-old Limousin bullock weighed 475kg and sold for €1,250 (€2.63/kg).

This February 2020-born Limousin bullock weighed 495kg and sold for €1,350 (€2.73/kg).

This 17-month-old Limousin heifer weighed 360kg and sold for €930 (€2.58/kg).

This 15-month-old Limousin heifer weighed 405kg and sold for €1,260 (€3.11/kg).