Friday’s calf sale in Carnaross Mart,Co Meath, which saw an entry of over 160 calves, took place completely online.

It was the mart’s second online sale this week, after Monday’s weekly cattle sale became the first in Ireland to take place fully online.

The new online format is proving to be a very workable solution for marts to continue trading under the new restrictions being imposed as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

Furthermore, the novel solution is also proving to be a popular one among many buyers and sellers after Monday’s cattle sale in Carnaross delivered a firm trade, and similarly, widespread satisfaction was reported in Manorhamilton Mart in Co Leitrim after its first online cattle sale on Wednesday afternoon.

Trade

Speaking after Friday’s sale, Carnaross Mart manager Padraig McElroy said the entry of calves met with “an outstanding trade all round”.

Bids, which were submitted online, came in from both farmer buyers and exporters and this drove a strong demand for all types.

Friesian bull calves ranged from €25/head for younger calves up to a top price of €180/head for stronger lots.

Beef-bred calves from the dairy herd also sold well. Angus bulls ran from €150/head to a top price of €370/head, while Angus heifers made between €130 and €390 each.

Whitehead calves then ran from €100 each to a top of €350, while some Belgian Blue and Continental calves fetched closer to €400/head.

Online sales

McElroy said the mart is so far very pleased with the success of the new online format and it plans to continue sales in this manner.

For the week ahead, the mart will have a cattle sale as normal on Easter Monday at 11am. Similar to last Monday’s sale, the yard of cattle will be open for viewing, this time between 9.30am and 10.30am. All personnel attending should note normal hygiene and social distancing restrictions will be in place.

Tuesday evening weanling sales will also resume in the mart this coming Tuesday 14 April, with the sale starting at 5pm and viewing open from 3pm to 4.30pm.