Monday evening saw a special weanling sale take place at Kilcullen Mart.

Mart manager Jimmy White said that there was a full yard of weanlings on offer and that they were almost all coloured cattle.

This Charolais-cross bull calf, born May 2019 and weighing 280kg, sold for €805 (€2.88/kg).

Jimmy said that while prices are back on last year’s levels, lighter bulls from 300kg to 380kg are making similar money, with heavier feeding bull prices back the most. When Monday’s sale prices were compared with the same sale last year, the average weanling was €30/head cheaper this week.

This Limousin bull calf, born May 2019 and weighing 300kg, sold for €770 (€2.57/kg).

The most demand was from feeders and farmers, with some export demand present also, but mainly for plainer and lighter calves.

The tops of heavy bulls sold for over €1,000 and up to €1,070/head. Average-quality heavy bulls over 400kg were selling for around €2.00/kg, with some struggling to hit the €2.00/kg mark.

This Charolais-cross bull calf, born April 2019 and weighing 385kg, sold for €930 (€2.42/kg).

Lighter bulls from 350kg to 400kg sold mainly from €750 to €850/head, with prices again averaging close to the €2.00/kg mark. There were not too many plain-quality calves on offer.

There was only a small number of heifers on offer and these were similar in price to bulls, with some fancy heifers selling to €1,000 for 335kg.

Commission rates are €9 to the buyer and €9 to €17 to the seller depending on sale value.

This Charolais-cross bull calf, born March 2019 and weighing 375kg, sold for €815 (€2.17/kg).

This Charolais-cross bull, born May 2019 and weighing 290kg, sold for €740 (€2.55/kg).