Numbers are slowly decreasing in Corrin Mart Fermoy lately but trade is moving in the other direction.

Commenting on the sale – which saw an entry of 400 cattle – mart manager Sean Leahy said “numbers are falling but trade is rising.”

He added that “trade has been lifting away every week for the last three weeks”.

In the sale, which saw a full clearance and lots of positivity among buyers, Leahy highlighted heavy Angus-cross bullocks as being strong sellers.

Another thing to note was smaller cow numbers: “The cows haven’t started to come out yet and they usually would,” Leahy said.

“It looks like farmers are milking them on and I’d say it’ll be after Christmas before they bring them out.”

Bullocks

The lighter 350kg to 400kg store bullock made an average price of €1.80/kg overall, up 10c/kg for the week. It was all Hereford and Angus lots in this weight band, which helped the average. They started at €1.60/kg and the better-quality lots moved up towards a top price of €1.95/kg.

Moving up the weights, 400kg to 500kg bullocks averaged €1.72/kg, up 10c/kg also. Just one pen of Friesians (481kg) was sold here and made €1.46/kg or €700/head. Angus and Herefords started at the €1.60/kg mark and the best climbed up to €1.95/kg. A small offering of continental crosses ranged from 1.65/kg to just under the €2.10/kg mark.

Those from 500kg to 600kg averaged out at €1.65/kg – no change in the week. Friesians sold from €1.23/kg up to €1.51/kg for better types. Angus and Hereford animals ranged from €1.60/kg to €1.90/kg.

Heavy bullocks weighing over 600kg averaged just under €1.45/kg. Friesian lots traded from €1.20/kg to €1.50/kg, while Angus and Hereford cattle sold at around the €1.60/kg mark.

Heifers

Light 400kg to 500kg animals averaged €1.77/kg – steady from the week before. Better-quality lots came closer to €1.90/kg, while plainer heifers dropped to around €1.70/kg.

Up the weights, 500kg to 600kg heifers averaged €1.71/kg, resulting in a rise of 5c/kg. The tops in this category were able to make over €1.80/kg, while plainer lots were back down at €1.60/kg and under.

Cows

Less than 20 cull cows went under the hammer on Tuesday too, the bulk of which were dairy stock.

Friesian cows made from €1.05/kg up to €1.30/kg. On a per-head basis, that works out at between €700/head and €900/head. One smart Friesian cow, born in 2013 and weighing 770kg, sold for €1,030 (€1.34/kg).

Best cow price went to a 2016-born Limousin-cross, weighing 755kg, which sold for €1,090 (€1.44/kg).

Corrin mart

Commission is €9/head to the buyer.

The seller is subject to an entry fee of €2.50 plus 1.5% commission with a minimum of €9.50/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.