Given it’s pushing into the final few weeks of the weanling season, numbers were understandably lower at Wednesday’s weanling sale in Thurles.

All-in-all, just under 200 weanlings were sold – 130 bulls and 70 heifers.

Bulls

Table 1 gives a breakdown of bull weanling prices on the day.

From 200kg to 300kg, the sale average was €1.66/kg, with the bulk of this category comprised of dairy-bred stock which pulled the average down. Spring-born Friesians made from €1.10/kg for quite poor quality, up to €1.65/kg for better lots.

Dairy beef breeds made from €1.60/kg to €1.80/kg, with a pair of super Hereford-bred calves rising well above the rest to €1.98/kg.

Continentals in the 200-300kg weight bracket started at €1.90/kg and topped at €2.87/kg for a super quality 250kg Belgian Blue weanling which sold for €710.

From 300kg to 400kg, the sale average was very strong at €2.27/kg, driven by the absence of any Friesian calves and an abundance of continentals. Dairy-beef weanlings started at €1.64/kg. Plainer continentals settled for around €2/kg, with better quality lots securing €2.40/kg and over.

Top price in this weight category went to a 340kg Limousin-cross weanling born in April which sold for €930 (€2.70/kg). Another notable price was €800 for a pen of seven spring-born Limousin crosses (€2.46/kg).

Heifers

From 200kg to 300kg, the average for weanling heifers was €2.20/kg while better quality lots sold for up to and over €2.70/kg.

Heavier heifers, weighing 300 to 400kg averaged €1.97/kg with better quality lots securing 30c-50c/kg more.

Mid-Tipperary mart

To the seller, commission rates for bullocks, heifers, cows and weanlings are €10/head for singles and €9/head for multiples, plus 0.05%.

To the buyer, commission is €10/head.

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.