There is good news for cattle farmers this week on calf exports to mainland Europe and heavy bulls to Turkey.

Some 5,000 calves in 17 trucks sailed from Rosslare on Tuesday for continental markets. This suggests the new shipping arrangements put in place by the Department of Agriculture are working well.

Calves exported on the stand-in service from Rosslare last week arrived in top health, as demanded by continental customers.

It is now clear there will be sufficient capacity for higher exports in 2018. The high numbers going this week is explained by exporters sending trucks out ahead of the forecast bad weather. While export numbers are rising, they won’t peak for another two or three weeks.

No calves will sail for the remainder of this week due to the extreme weather. Mart sales have also been cancelled. But from next week, with more normal weather expected, exports will rise and are expected to exceed 10,000 per week.

There has also been a sharp jump in calf entries in mart sales around the country. Farm-to-farm sales have ramped up. But demand and prices are firm, with the strong purchasing by live exporters a factor.

There is huge price variation, with calves making anywhere from €5 to €400. Light Friesian bull calves are selling from €50 to €60, with stronger shipping calves making €80 to €90 for Dutch-type and €100 and €120 for strong Spanish type calves.

Continental calves are scarce. Lighter and younger ones are selling from €200 to €300, with the few strong, quality continental bull calves making up to €350 to €400 per head.

Farmers are driving the trade for the best-quality Friesian bull calves with prices ranging from €120 to €150 and British Friesians up to €170 to €190.

Jersey and poor-quality crossbreds are selling at €5 to €50. There is also wide price variation for Angus and Herefords. Lighter-boned calves from first-calved heifers are selling from €120 to €170, with better-quality calves reaching €250 and even €300.

Meanwhile, a shipment of heavy bulls will load next week for Turkey. It is understood Viastar will send out 1,800 bulls weighing up to 800kg.

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