The main camera at the mart was at last Friday’s special dairy sale at Fermoy Mart. The sale saw a strong entry of about 134 in-calf and calved heifers on offer.

With dairy prices under pressure recently, demand for in-calf heifers has been quite mixed.

However, the recent positivity helped to boost demand at the Fermoy sale, according to mart manager Sean Leahy. He added that the bonus of a dairy sale like last week’s is that it gives buyers the advantage of being able to pick and choose the best lots available.

Sean said that quality of heifers on offer at the sale was very good, which was a major help to the sale. In terms of demand, buyers had travelled from across the country, which resulted in a ringside of prospective buyers.

Sean said that the majority of heifers on offer had plenty of data behind them, EBI milk records and parental lineage.

While figures were a main driver of price, Sean said that the biggest help to the sale was the size and weight of most of the heifers on offer.

He said that there was a good deal of heifers over 550kg, which attracted the strongest attention from farmers, while lighter types from 450kg to 480kg were met with much less buyer demand.

In terms of prices, they ranged from a low of €1,000/head to a maximum of €1,600/head.

The majority of well-framed high-EBI heifers sold from €1,250 to €1,400, with some averages across groups as high as €1,350/head.

Prices of calved heifers ranged mainly from €1,000 to €1,100. However, Sean said that one of the driving factors behind the lower prices for the calved heifers was the fact that they were a little lighter, which resulted in slightly less buyer demand.

Sean said that those stronger heifers with good parental protein and yields attracted the stronger prices.

Those with protein figures of 3.7% to 3.8% and production of 6,000kg and more sold for over €1,400.

This Friday, another dairy sale will take place at the mart. There are a few good entries of heifers, with more Holstein breeding from higher-yielding herds than last Friday’s sale.

Commission rates are 2.5% to the buyer and 1.5% to the seller for dairy sales.