Camera at the Mart: quality cattle build a steady trade in Roscrea Mart

Roscrea Mart held its weekly cattle sale on Friday 22 September with a strong entry of almost 900 cattle. The quality on offer was excellent and there was a steady trade for those quality lots on offer.

Farmer customers helped in keeping a steady trade throughout the day, while buyers from the North and south dug deep to secure their choice lots.

Big entries in the heifer section of the sale met good demand from buyers, with lighter heifers weighing 350kg to 400kg meeting an average price per kilo of €2.50.

One Aberdeen Angus cow in this weight category weighing 380kg sold for €1,540 (€4.05/kg). The top third of these heifers averaged up to €2.85/kg, while the lower third of the group achieved an average of €2.25/kg across all breeds.

Largest entry

The largest entry of heifers was in the 400kg to 500kg weight category, with just shy of 130 head for sale. These lots peaked with a Charolais-cross heifer weighing 405kg that sold for €1,400 (€3.46/kg).

Good-quality continental heifers in this weight range sold well in excess of €3.40/kg, while a number of Hereford and Angus-cross types averaged slightly below this at €2.85/kg.

Heavy females

Heavy females peaked at €2,270 for a September 2014-born Limousin-cross cow weighing 790kg (€2.87/kg), while other heavy cows averaged €2.80/kg.

There was a strong trade for bullocks at Friday’s sale, with the top call going for a Charolais-cross Belgian Blue bullock born in January 2021 and weighing 830kg that sold for €2,640 (€3.18/kg).

Heavy bullocks frequently secured €1,200 with their weight, while lighter bullocks also attracted strong ringside attention, with a Limousin-cross bullock weighing 395kg selling for €1,400 (€3.54/kg).

The largest selection of bullocks fell in the 400kg to 500kg category, where continental breeds averaged up on €3.20/kg.

Good suckler-bred Hereford and Angus-crosses also secured top prices, with one Aberdeen Angus-cross bullock weighing 560kg selling for €1,670 (€2.98/kg) and a Hereford-cross bullock weighing 640kg selling for €1,550 (€2.42/kg).

Speaking to the Irish Farmers Journal after the sale, Central Auctions and Roscrea Mart manager Michael Harty said: “There was a great selection of top-quality cattle on offer there today. There was a good steady trade throughout the sale and buyers had a great calibre of stock to choose from.”