Trading in Mid-Tipperary Mart Thurles is very different to when the mart was founded 50 years ago. But according to mart manager Martin Ryan, the strong community spirit and support from local farmers and shareholders who got the mart up and running is still very much part of driving the mart forward.
“Looking back and listening to the history of when the mart was set up, you have to admire the foresight and bravery shown by the 800 shareholders who raised £18,000 to get the mart started. It was an awful lot of money at the time with the bank opening on a Saturday to accommodate the share drive and there was no guarantee it would work,” says Martin.
“The drive and commitment shown by the founding men and women and strong local support, including a 50-year relationship with AIB who helped the mart get up and running, is the real reason why the mart remains a success today.”
The co-operative structure operated in the mart is also unique in that the 20 jurisdictions or areas in the mart catchment are all represented with a voice on the mart committee.
The mart is lucky in that it is close enough to the town to benefit mutually from trading activity but is also far enough from the centre that farmers can have ease in coming and going from the mart
Martin also explains that the site in Ballycurrane, Thurles, is ideally located to get a good balance between beef and dairy stock, with a good road network also suiting easy accessibility to buyers travelling from outside the normal catchment area.
“The mart is lucky in that it is close enough to the town to benefit mutually from trading activity but is also far enough from the centre that farmers can have ease in coming and going from the mart. The site is also big enough that the mart has been able to expand in line with growing numbers.
“A good road network with motorway access close by has been central in attracting buyers from further afield and providing a good source of competition for farmers presenting stock. We have also been lucky in that regard as we are surrounded by a British Friesian dairy stronghold on one side of the mart and good suckler and beef producers on the other, giving us the ability to cater for two markets.”
Significant investment
The mart has made huge strides forward in the last five years, with considerable investment into improving and expanding the mart premises, while there have also been impressive developments on the technology side.
“I am in the lucky position as a mart manager in having a chairman, Francis Burke, and committee who are very progressive thinking and are continually targeting providing a better service to customers. We have extended our roofed penning area, improved our intake capacity and laid quite a bit of concrete in recent years. We have also installed a waste water treatment plant that has greatly cut down on water usage through the use of recycled water for washing and maintenance and allowed us to manage slurry more efficiently. This has all been very worthwhile and in the last three years we have increased throughput from 35,790 head in 2013 to 39,839 head in 2015 with a turnover of €34.8m. At this stage of 2016, throughput is up 1,000 on last year’s levels so we are well on target to break 40,000 cattle traded.”
New technologies
As mentioned above, the mart has been a leader in new technologies. Martin explains the mart was the first in the country to display information such as the quality assurance status of stock traded, the number of moves an animal has made and the number of days it has spent on the last farm.
The mart also developed the first mobile phone bidding app and more recently the mart has piloted displaying €uro-Star replacement index information as part of the Beef Data and Genomics Programme.
“New technology requires big investment but I am seeing more and more farmers rightly looking for more information on the animals they are buying. The pilot programme of displaying €uro-Stars has bedded in well and as long as the industry explains what the index means, having this information can only be good to bring breeding forward. I think this drive for more information will continue and we will see buyers looking for sire and dam data on male cattle in the not too distant future.”
Anniversary celebration
Explaining new technology developments is becoming a value-added part of the mart trading business with the mart holding an increasing number of information evenings.
An information evening as part of the mart’s 50 years golden jubilee celebration takes place next Wednesday 31 August.
It will include presentations and a breed exhibit from Teagasc and ICBF, followed by a visit and address from Minister for Agriculture Michael Creed before the evening concludes with a charity auction of two cattle, with all funds raised going to Suir Haven Cancer support centre and Pieta House.
Read more
To read the full Marts Focus Supplement click here.
Trading in Mid-Tipperary Mart Thurles is very different to when the mart was founded 50 years ago. But according to mart manager Martin Ryan, the strong community spirit and support from local farmers and shareholders who got the mart up and running is still very much part of driving the mart forward.
“Looking back and listening to the history of when the mart was set up, you have to admire the foresight and bravery shown by the 800 shareholders who raised £18,000 to get the mart started. It was an awful lot of money at the time with the bank opening on a Saturday to accommodate the share drive and there was no guarantee it would work,” says Martin.
“The drive and commitment shown by the founding men and women and strong local support, including a 50-year relationship with AIB who helped the mart get up and running, is the real reason why the mart remains a success today.”
The co-operative structure operated in the mart is also unique in that the 20 jurisdictions or areas in the mart catchment are all represented with a voice on the mart committee.
The mart is lucky in that it is close enough to the town to benefit mutually from trading activity but is also far enough from the centre that farmers can have ease in coming and going from the mart
Martin also explains that the site in Ballycurrane, Thurles, is ideally located to get a good balance between beef and dairy stock, with a good road network also suiting easy accessibility to buyers travelling from outside the normal catchment area.
“The mart is lucky in that it is close enough to the town to benefit mutually from trading activity but is also far enough from the centre that farmers can have ease in coming and going from the mart. The site is also big enough that the mart has been able to expand in line with growing numbers.
“A good road network with motorway access close by has been central in attracting buyers from further afield and providing a good source of competition for farmers presenting stock. We have also been lucky in that regard as we are surrounded by a British Friesian dairy stronghold on one side of the mart and good suckler and beef producers on the other, giving us the ability to cater for two markets.”
Significant investment
The mart has made huge strides forward in the last five years, with considerable investment into improving and expanding the mart premises, while there have also been impressive developments on the technology side.
“I am in the lucky position as a mart manager in having a chairman, Francis Burke, and committee who are very progressive thinking and are continually targeting providing a better service to customers. We have extended our roofed penning area, improved our intake capacity and laid quite a bit of concrete in recent years. We have also installed a waste water treatment plant that has greatly cut down on water usage through the use of recycled water for washing and maintenance and allowed us to manage slurry more efficiently. This has all been very worthwhile and in the last three years we have increased throughput from 35,790 head in 2013 to 39,839 head in 2015 with a turnover of €34.8m. At this stage of 2016, throughput is up 1,000 on last year’s levels so we are well on target to break 40,000 cattle traded.”
New technologies
As mentioned above, the mart has been a leader in new technologies. Martin explains the mart was the first in the country to display information such as the quality assurance status of stock traded, the number of moves an animal has made and the number of days it has spent on the last farm.
The mart also developed the first mobile phone bidding app and more recently the mart has piloted displaying €uro-Star replacement index information as part of the Beef Data and Genomics Programme.
“New technology requires big investment but I am seeing more and more farmers rightly looking for more information on the animals they are buying. The pilot programme of displaying €uro-Stars has bedded in well and as long as the industry explains what the index means, having this information can only be good to bring breeding forward. I think this drive for more information will continue and we will see buyers looking for sire and dam data on male cattle in the not too distant future.”
Anniversary celebration
Explaining new technology developments is becoming a value-added part of the mart trading business with the mart holding an increasing number of information evenings.
An information evening as part of the mart’s 50 years golden jubilee celebration takes place next Wednesday 31 August.
It will include presentations and a breed exhibit from Teagasc and ICBF, followed by a visit and address from Minister for Agriculture Michael Creed before the evening concludes with a charity auction of two cattle, with all funds raised going to Suir Haven Cancer support centre and Pieta House.
Read more
To read the full Marts Focus Supplement click here.
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