Last Friday’s special weanling sale at Loughrea Mart saw a large entry of over 670 bulls and heifers on offer.

The trade was quite brisk and a little better than farmers imagined it would be.

There was strong farmer and feeder demand, which placed a firm floor under prices for most types of weanlings.

Mart manager Jimmy Cooney said that the outstanding feature of the sale was the quality of weanlings on offer, and this translated into strong demand and a brisk sale at times.

The highest prices were paid by feeders for heavy bulls. The best demand was for U and E grade types.

At the top of the trade, the best-quality heavy bulls over 500kg sold mainly from €1,200 to €1,300/head.

Those from 450kg to 500kg sold mainly from €1,050 to €1,200/head depending on quality.

Farmer demand for bulls from 300kg to 400kg was quite strong also, with the majority of farmers looking to source better-quality types.

Prices of these ranged mainly from €850 to €950/ head, but, again, the quality of stock on offer was the main driver of strong prices. Plainer bulls in the same weight range were very scarce and sold mainly from €700 to €800/head.

There was a good entry of top-quality heifers on offer also. Again, farmers were the main source of demand for these. Jimmy said that like weanling bulls, the quality of heifers was very strong also, with sellers opting to show the best-quality heifers at the show and sale. He said that farmer buyer activity was a little better than previous weeks also, which was a big positive.

Heifers over 400kg were not that plentiful, but where on offer sold mainly from €980 to €1,100/head.

The main supply of heifers was from 300kg to 400kg and these sold mainly from €800 to €950, with some top-quality heifers at the bottom end of the weights from 320kg to 340kg selling for over €900/head.

There was a share of plainer heifers on offer also. These weren’t met with as strong demand as the better-quality types. Prices ranged mainly from €680 to €750/head. Lighter heifers from 200kg to 300kg were only available in smaller numbers and sold mainly from €600 to €700/head.

Commission rates are €9 to the buyer and €1.5% to the seller.