Carrigallen Mart held its annual show and sale of heifers on Thursday last.
The sale saw 400 heifers go under the hammer, with a strong demand for factory-fit heifers, as well as heifers suitable for grazing.
Top-quality cattle were in demand, with the top price hitting €4,100 for a 710kg Charolais-cross heifer.
The sale champion sold for €2,020 at 665kg, while a second-prizewinning heifer sold for €3,000 at 650kg.
Price extremes
Mart manager Helen Kells said: “The in-calf heifer and fatstock scene has driven the price of the top of the range cattle to extremes in the past 12 months.
“It’s a massive boost for producers and our suppliers to have these customers willing to go the distance on the right animals.”
Short supply
With store heifers suitable for grass in short supply, these cattle also met a very good trade. Charolais-cross heifers from 370kg to 460kg averaged €2.40/kg.
Limousin-cross heifers in the same weight bracket averaged €2.30/kg. Other store heifer prices would have averaged over €2.00/kg for Aberdeen Angus-cross and Hereford-cross cattle.
Northern buyers
Buyers from Northern Ireland (NI) were out in force, with the vast majority of heifers in the 550kg to 630kg weight bracket heading across the border.
Helen added: “We’ve seen a real resurgence in the NI trade over the last few months, with northern customers back buying cattle every week."
The sale had a 97% clearance rate. Carrigallen Mart holds its annual spring show and sale of dry cows on Thursday 18 March, with over 200 dry cows booked in for the sale.
