There were about 600 calves on offer at last Saturday’s sale at Cashel. The majority of those on offer were Friesians, with some continentals and traditional-bred calves on offer also.

This Hereford bull born 16 February sold for €300.

Export demand for Friesian bull calves was good with prices of €15 to €60 paid by exporters.

Farmers were not buying light calves at all. The majority of farmers were buying continental, Angus, Hereford and strong Friesians.

This Angus bull born 17 February sold for €310.

At the top of the market, strong Friesians sold to €100/head. There were some Jersey-cross calves on offer also, but numbers of these were quite small. While some made under €10/head the tops of these went up to €30/head.

These five- and two-week-old Friesian bulls sold for €100 each.

Farmers were very active for better-quality continental calves, which sold mainly from €250 to a top price of over €400/head. Farmers were also very active for Herefords, with prices ranging from €320/head to €350/head.

These four-week-old Friesian bulls sold for €60 each.

Angus calves were not met with as strong of demand as the Herefords and prices ranged mainly from €200 to €250 for stronger types. However, with unsettled weather, Robert DeVere Hunt of Cashel Mart said that this could interrupt calf exports this week, which in turn could impact on export demand in the coming week.

This Charolais-cross bull born 16 February sold for €440.

He added that as most farmer demand is early in the year for January- and February-born calves, reduced farmer demand could impact in the coming weeks also.

Commission rates are €9 to the seller and €9 to the buyer.