Camera at the Mart: stock met with super trade in Portumna

Portumna Livestock Mart held its annual spring fatstock show and sale of cows, bullocks and heifers on Wednesday 8 February.

The sale consisted of just over 500 entries comprising of forward store and beef cattle, with a small number of weanling bulls and heifers also on offer.

In keeping with current market trends and nationwide ringside demand, the trade remained brisk throughout, resulting in a 98% clearance rate.

Factory agents and short-keep clients were anxious to secure the forward lots alongside their Northern Ireland counterparts, who also made their presence known on the day.

Cull cows

There was just short of 70 cull cows brought forward for sale, made up of predominantly Charolais and Limousin types, with some dairy and traditional breeds also present.

These averaged €2.33/kg across the board, with the finished continental types averaging €2.70/kg to a top call of €2,900 for a Limousin-cross cow weighing 995kg (€2.91/kg).

The plainer suckler and dairy-type cows also sold well and averaged €1.87/kg.

The more forward-type heifers in the over-600kg bracket were met with a similar demand, with well-fleshed females averaging €3.27/kg and selling to a high of €2,580 for a 780kg Charolais-cross (€3.31/kg).

Another notable price was a 645kg Limousin-cross heifer that sold for €2,050 (€3.18/kg).

The lighter store heifers for the upcoming grazing season averaged €2.82/kg, with the better conformed types freely crossing the €3.00/kg mark.

With the recent spell of good weather and improving ground conditions, farmers are turning their focus towards an early turnout, which should help maintain the trade.

Bullocks

Similar to the previous categories, bullocks were also an easy sell, with the top end of the 600kg-plus animals averaging €3.24/kg, with the slightly lesser types still remaining strong at €2.62/kg.

The lighter stores in the 400kg to 500kg range averaged €2.62/kg across the board, with the premium end sitting at €2.91/kg.

The highest price of the sale went to a Charolais-cross bullock that weighed 890kg and subsequently sold for €3,150 (€3.54/kg). Another Charolais-cross bullock weighing 850kg sold for €2,750 (€3.24/kg).

Speaking to the Irish Farmers Journal, mart manager Marie Young said “the quality on offer was reflected in the extremely strong trade and high prices achieved” and she noted that “the prices were much improved on the same sale this time last year”.