This is a subscriber-only article
Clare Marts manager Martin McNamara spoke to the Irish Farmers Journal at the Ploughing championships.
"Im getting really worried at this stage about what might happen in the next few months in relation to the cattle trade," McNamara said.
Slight drop
"Store cattle are starting to see a slight drop and that's directly related to what's been happening at the factory gates.
"We have a couple of big finishers who are full and can't get cattle killed. They actually want to buy cattle, but can't because sheds are full.
"I had one man in to me the other day that has 150 steers to kill.
His cattle are losing money every day
"His cattle are losing money every day going over age and over fat and he can't do anything about it. That's a customer for 150 cattle that I don't have around the ring."
McNamara said the weanling trade is actually holding up really well given, all the talk about the beef trade.
Active exporters
"A number of exporters have been very active in recent weeks and demand has been good for top-quality weanlings," said Martin.
"In some cases, farmers have got better prices this year when compared with last year.
"There could be an issue with cull cows in a few weeks if there isn't a resolution found.
"Our cull cow purchasers are choked up with stock at the moment and will have to get cows killed before they start purchasing again.
"In general, numbers at marts are reported to be small, with farmers reluctant to show stock given the current situation in the market."
Good weather
Moving to the midlands, Michael Harty of Central Auctions said that the current good weather has probably taken the pressure off a little, as farmers are in a position to hold cattle.
Harty said: "I have a number of agents who buy cattle and they have been stalled by their customers until things return to normal.
"We have a lot of Angus and Hereford cattle around this area and there is a risk that these animals could go over fat very quickly, which will lead to penalties for farmers.
"Cash is tight on farms and farmers need to sell."
SHARING OPTIONS: