One of the big drivers of throughput in marts in 2022 was the fact that factory-fit cattle got quite scarce during the summer and factories turned to marts to source their supplies.

With three and four factory agents around the same ring, farmers soon cottoned on to the competition in the trade and some chose to let the agents fight away in the ring as opposed to heading to the factory lairage.

This is evident in the breed analysis this week, with heavier cattle all seeing the largest rises.

It should be noted that for this analysis we used the average quality category.

If we look at the top 33% in each breed we see some higher gains in 2022.

The biggest increase was seen in the 500kg heifer category with Belgian Blue heifers coming in with a 37c/kg increase on the average price in 2021.

This February 2022 born Belgian Blue heifer weighed 440kg and sold for €1880 (€4.27/kg) in Carrigallen mart in 2022

This translates into a €240/head increase on a 650kg heifer.

Following close behind were Angus heifers over 500kg, which saw a 36c/kg increase.

Interestingly, if we look at how prices have changed over the last four years, it is heavy Belgian Blue heifers that are coming out on top again with an 85c/kg increase.

The heavy bullock category saw similar increases to heifers, with the continental breeds, Charolais and Limousin, seeing the largest increases here.

The average Charolais bullock over 500kg in 2022 sold for €2.73/kg while the average Limousin bullock over 500kg came in at €2.70/kg.

Frieisan bullocks accounted for 12.5% of throughput in 2022 and the average price of 500kg+ Friesian bullocks came in at €2.15/kg in 2022.

Charolais bullocks have seen the largest increase since 2019, recording a 66c/kg improvement on the 2019 price.

The 400-500kg category is the most popular in store cattle terms and taking a look at the heifers it was the Hereford and Limousin breeds that came out on top here, both recording an increase of 24c/kg on the 2021 price.

This was followed closely by Charolais and Angus, which recorded a 23c/kg increase on 2021 prices.

On the bullock side it was the Charolais that made the most gains, recording a 25c/kg increase followed closely by Limousins with a 24c/kg increase.

Friesian bullocks recorded the lowest increase, up 15c/kg on the 2021 price.

In the 300-400kg heifer category the Hereford breed came in with the biggest increase. It recorded a 24c/kg increase while Charolais heifers in the same weight category came in with an 18c/kg increase on 2021.

Aberdeen Angus and Limousin both saw a 17c/kg increase year on year. In the 300-400kg bullock category Belgian Blue was back out in front again with a 22c/kg increase on the 2021 price.

This was followed closely by both Charolais and Limousin which both recorded a 21c/kg increase. All breeds recorded gains in 2022, with the continental breeds of Charolais, Limosuin and Belgian Blue coming in with the highest gains followed by the traditional breeds of Aberdeen Angus and Hereford with Friesian bullocks showing the lowest increase in 2022.