With marts currently under very tight trading restrictions, online sales are standing out as a very workable solution.

On Monday, Carnaross Mart in Co Meath held a fully online sale of 150 lots of cattle and on Wednesday, Manorhamilton Mart in Co Leitrim followed suit with an online sale of just under 100 cattle.

Both sales were facilitated by the Livestock Live online platform.

Satisfaction

Speaking to Manorhamilton Mart manager Wilfred Moffitt after the sale, he said: “The sale went very well. Most people seemed to be very satisfied with the new format for the sale.”

Moffitt acknowledged that “there is a nice bit of work getting people set up online to allow them to bid on cattle” but he followed by saying “the cattle looked very well on camera and most people seemed to be able to work the online aspect of it quite well”.

This Charolais-cross heifer, born February 2019 and weighing 360kg, sold for €860 (€2.39/kg).

This Charolais-cross bull weighing 355kg sold for €860 (€2.42/kg).

This Charolais-cross heifer, born August 2019 and weighing 275kg, sold for €830 (€3.02/kg).

Trade

Since it was the first sale of the new online format, there was a smaller entry, with around 35 heifers, 50 bulls and bullocks and around 15 dry cows.

Moffitt said the stand-out seller was the real nice-quality Charolais heifer and “she was capable of making upward of €3/kg in some cases”.

With the male cattle, bigger bulls were quite hard to sell, but the lighter bulls were a better trade.

Store cows ranged from €600 to €850 and a few beef cows made over €1,100.

This Charolais-cross bullock, born May 2019 and weighing 290kg, sold for €790 (€2.72/kg).

This Charolais-cross heifer, born April 2019 and weighing 330kg, sold for €770 (€2.33/kg).

This Charolais-cross heifer, born March 2019 and weighing 330kg, sold for €830 (€2.52/kg).

Future sales

The next cattle sale in Manorhamilton Mart will take place on Monday 13 April. The sale starts at 12pm, with viewing open between 10am and 12pm. All cattle must be in the yard before viewing commences.

For the future, Wilfred said that “even when sales go back to normal, the online option is still going to be here. It’s working well and it could be very useful for people who have other work during the day but still want to buy cattle.”

This Angus-cross cow, born March 2017 and weighing 790kg, sold for €1,130 (€1.43/kg).

This Hereford-cross cow, born March 2015 and weighing 490kg, sold for €810 (€1.65/kg).

Is your mart open?

Use our interactive map below to find out if your mart is open for online sales.