Camera at the Mart: dairy beef stock sell to €2.39/kg in Birr

Birr Mart hosted its weekly sale on Monday, with numbers back slightly on the previous weeks.

That said, numbers for the month of July remain well up on previous years.

A total of 239 cattle went through the scales this week, with over 200 meeting their reserve.

Making up the majority of these lots were bullocks, with some prices hitting in excess of €2.50/kg.

These were mainly for continental-bred stock, which only made up a small proportion given the mart’s dairy reputation.

That said, there was plenty of dairy-beef bullocks on offer and choice lots of these made close to €2.40/kg.

Heavy stock were light on the ground, but those exceeding 650kg were in high demand.

One of the top lots on the day was a pair of Hereford bullocks weighing 690kg that sold for €1,540 each (€2.23/kg).

Lighter lots sub-600kg seen Angus and Hereford generally sell around the €2.15/kg to €2.25/kg mark.

However, there were exceptions, with good beefy type first-crosses hitting higher.

Choice lots here were a pen of three Angus that weighed 436kg and sold for €1,040 and another 590kg Angus that sold for €1,410, both making €2.39/kg.

Pure Friesian bullocks of that lighter weight generally started at €1.65/kg, with better-made younger cattle with higher weight gain selling for slightly over the €2/kg mark.

On the heifer side, Angus and Hereford proved similar to their bullock comrades in and around that €2.15/kg to €2.25/kg mark in most instances.

Higher prices were achieved by the Blue and Limousin heifers in attendance, but, again, these were lighter on the ground.

Cow trade was again very strong, but numbers were small on Monday.

Friesian cows sold to €1.78/kg, paid for a 785kg nine-year-old cow.

One 2018 Angus cow led the cull cow prices, weighing 650kg and selling for €1,390 (€2.14/kg).

Speaking following the sale, auctioneer David White said: “Trade was very good for store cattle and for beef cattle as well, we didn’t see any decrease in any of the cattle prices.

“Heifers and bullocks are up around €150-plus on the same sale last year and Angus trade is still holding tight. There’s people coming back to the marts because of the prices cattle are making.”