Tuesday night’s sale at Tralee Mart saw another strong trade for Friesian calf prices. Mart manager Philip Healy said that numbers over the past few weeks have been decreasing. Tuesday night’s sale saw numbers entered running at just over half of the peak seen about a month ago.

With smaller numbers of Friesian bull calves on offer, prices were very strong, according to Philip.

Export demand was very strong and prices of bull calves ranged mainly from €80 to €100/head, with stronger calves making upwards of €120/head at times.

He said that Angus calves were a more variable trade. While numbers on offer are lower than previous weeks, prices are still driven by the quality of calf on offer, with prices of Angus heifers ranging mainly from €70 to €90/head.

Better-quality and stronger Angus bulls sold to €150/head, with the upper end of Herefords slightly above this. Monday’s general cattle sale saw a good lift in prices. Philip said that the number on offer was slightly lower than expected, but this was due to the poor weather.

Farmer buyers were very active for all types of good store cattle and Philip added that as a result, prices were up by €30 to €40/head on the previous week.

Commission rates for cattle are €7.50 to the buyer and 1.5% to the seller.