Carnew Mart returned on Saturday 4 February for its annual fatstock show and sale of heifers, which followed its excellent fatstock show and sale of bullocks only a week previous.

Looking past the scarcity of livestock available for sale, the fatstock saw a massive entry of 1,340 cattle, made up of 500 beef heifers, 400 stores and the balance being weanlings and lighter stores, with a huge percentage of U grade cattle.

There was a vigorous trade for all classes of heifers, with buyers from Northern Ireland and local factories fighting for heavy cattle, with the reserve champion, a butchers’ heifer, weighing 722kg selling for €4,000 (€5.54/kg).

Heavy heifers weighing 500kg to 600kg typically sold from €2.62/kg to €3.25/kg and heifers weighing over 600kg sold in the range of €2.76/kg to €3.70/kg.

Northern buyers

Northern buyers were also active for shapey-type heifers suitable for the breeding market, with the champion breeding heifer, a Limousin-cross weighing 678kg, selling for €3,350 (€4.94/kg).

Weanling heifers sold particularly well, with females in the weight range of 300kg to 400kg selling between €2.32/kg and €4.05/kg, females weighing 400kg to 500kg selling between €2.60/kg and €3.87/kg and heavy weanling heifers weighing over 450kg generally selling between €3.66/kg and €5.15/kg.

These exceptional prices were exceeded on a number of occasions, with the top call being a Belgian Blue-cross heifer weighing 390kg that sold for €4,200 (€10.77/kg).

The best butcher heifer was a Belgian Blue-cross heifer weighing 535kg that sold for €4,000 (€7.48/kg).

Mart manager David Quinn said: “Producers of quality cattle were well paid for their stock and hopefully it will encourage breeders to continue breeding suckler cattle.”