Just over 1,500 calves went through the ring in Bandon Mart for the Easter bank holiday Monday sale and while demand didn’t dip, the price range has tightened up in comparison to other sales this year.
That would apply especially to the three- to six-week-old calves that weighed between 50kg and 70kg.
Angus and Hereford numbers dominated the lairage this week and price variation for them was extremely broad. They made from €360 back to €5. Weight for age and breed of dam were the main factors when it came to prices for these.
Across bulls and heifers, €120 to €230 would have bought most of the traditional beef breed calves from Friesian cows and while a number of lots exceeded this price range, only a select few broke the €300 mark this week.
Those that did were mostly calves at or over 80kg or on occasion lighter calves reached these prices when two buyers took a fancy to the animals on offer.
Traditional beef breed calves under 50kg or those with FRX or JEX as their dam breed on the board were pushing it to get out of double figures.
Anywhere from €60 to €100 would have bought a good share of these, with calves closer to or under 40kg ending up at the lower end of the market.
Continental calves
Though slack in numbers, continentals made up for it in terms of the money paid for them. Prices for these topped out at €515 for a pair of Charolais bull calves but the bulk of continentals over 60kg were making from that high back as far as €200, with prices for lighter calves falling below this threshold.
Friesians
With the bulk of February-born calves through the system, the supply of Friesian bull calves has become more limited, resulting in a higher floor for their prices.
The bulk of calves over 55kg sold from €70 to €190, with lighter calves selling from €30 to €60.
There was a selection of Friesian heifer calves suitable for breeding and the presence of some top-quality heifer calves saw the higher end of trade for these range from €410 up to €650.
