According to mart manager Alan Barry, the trade over the last two weeks has been testing in Athenry. “The uncertainty that’s out there at the minute is undoubtedly leaving it very difficult for buyers,” he said.

He added that had it not been for the presence of exporters at last week’s weanling show and sale, the farmer and finisher demand for weanlings would be quite tame.

At Tuesday’s general sale, the demand for store cattle was only lukewarm. But, in saying that, quality lots were still attracting attention.

Just under 800 cattle were sold, which according to Barry “was a good number, but actually not as large as it could have been given the current weather conditions and the state of land in some parts of the region”.

On a broader note, Barry pointed out that numbers of quality suckler cattle are undoubtedly in decline in the west. “While the total cattle number on AIMS is much the same, I think a lot of that is down to higher dairy numbers in the south and east. Suckler herds over here are reducing.”

Bullocks and bulls

Working up the weights, 400-500kg bullocks averaged €1.85/kg. Within this, Friesian lots averaged €1.15/kg to €1.30/kg while dairy beef lots made from €1.50/kg to €1.80/kg. Continentals started at €1.85/kg and topped out at €2.30/kg.

From 500-600kg, the average was €1.74/kg. Again, Friesians put a floor under the trade at €1.15/kg up to €1.40/kg while Hereford and Angus crosses continued up to €1.65/kg. Continentals topped out at €2.10/kg but top-quality continentals made over the €2/kg mark consistently.

Bullocks weighing over 600kg sold for an average price of €1.73/kg. Nice-quality lots commanded a price close to and above €2/kg, while plain lots and Friesians were back down at €1.50/kg consistently.

Heifers

Store heifers weighing 400-500kg averaged €1.84/kg, with the top-quality lots breaking €2.10/kg and pushing up as high as €2.50/kg.

From 500-600kg, the sale average was €1.73/kg, with best quality this time breaking the €2/kg mark on regular occasions but plain lots back down at €1.45/kg.

Athenry Mart

Commission is 1.75% to the seller and €9.25/head to the buyer. Athenry Mart has two weekly cattle sales: bullocks, heifers and dry cows on Tuesdays and cows, calves and weanlings on Thursdays.

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.