Mart prices: bullocks steady but heifers see a drop in Birr

Just under 200 cattle were sold at Monday’s general cattle sale in Birr Mart, Co Offaly.

Bullocks

Table 1 gives a full summary of prices from the sale.

Prices in all weight bands were back slightly, except for those in the 500kg to 600kg category, which were up about 5c/kg.

From 350kg to 400kg, the average price was €1.71/kg.

Friesians sold for €1.55/kg to €1.65/kg and a strong selection of Hereford-cross cattle sold for between €1.72/kg and €1.86/kg.

From 400kg to 500kg, the sale average was €1.73/kg.

Friesians started the ball rolling at €1.35/kg and better quality made up to €1.65/kg.

Angus- and Hereford-cross animals ranged between €1.60/kg and €2.05/kg, while a handful of continentals made from €2/kg up to a top of €2.10/kg.

As mentioned, 500kg to 600kg animals saw a slight price rise to an average of €1.77/kg.

Prices were boosted by some good-quality dairy-cross lots, which made from €1.90/kg back to a good base of €1.73/kg.

Friesians made between €1.45/kg and €1.60/kg and continentals topped out at €2.20/kg.

Heavy bullocks over 600kg averaged €1.70/kg, with the best-quality lots regularly making over €1.80/kg.

Heifers

It was a small sale of heifers on Monday. Prices for heifers between 350kg and 500kg were back over 10c/kg, but heavier heifers held firm.

Table 2 gives a full break down.

Heifers weighing 350kg to 400kg averaged €1.85/kg.

It was mostly dairy-crosses here and they made between €1.60/kg and €1.95/kg.

A small selection of continentals sold from €1.84/kg to €2.25/kg.

From 400kg to 500kg, the average was €1.84/kg.

The best-quality lots were making close to and above €2/kg, while plainer dairy-crosses were down below €1.60/kg mostly.

Heavier 500kg to 600kg heifers averaged €1.66/kg for the sale, with quality commanding over €1.90/kg.

Cows

There was a small selection of cull cows for sale on the day.

Dairy cows averaged €1.15/kg to €1.25/kg, or €700 to €770/head.

Continental cows sold well, with most selling for above the €1.50/kg mark up to a top price of €2/kg for young well-fleshed cows.

On a per-head basis, these worked out at €900 to €1,500.

Analysis for this report was generated from the MartBids app. MartBids is a collaboration between the Irish Farmers Journal and livestock marts. The app is available for download on iPhone or Android on the App Store or Google Play. With this app, all of the information that is displayed on the mart board is now available on your smartphone, long before the animal enters the sales ring.