Kilkenny ring 1

Kilkenny ring 2

Castlerea ring 1

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Thursday’s general sale in Kilkenny Mart saw an entry of close to 800 cattle and a brisk trade saw almost 95% of these being sold.

All weights of store heifers were up for the week, while bullocks remained steady.

Bull ring

Lighter 300kg to 400kg yearling bullocks and bulls sold to an average price of €2.43/kg. Plainer-quality lots here started at €2.10/kg, while quality lots kicked on from €2.65/kg up to a top of €2.79/kg.

Top price went to a pen of eight 10- and 11-month-old Limousin-crosses averaging 374kg which made €1,000/head.

Moving up the weights, 400kg to 500kg bullocks averaged €1.99/kg, with a lot of dairy breeding on offer. Friesians ranged from €1.45/kg up to €1.80/kg.

Dairy-beef breeds continued up to €2.10/kg. Continentals ran from €2.15/kg up to €2.65/kg, with good quality making over €2.40/kg.

From 500kg to 600kg, the average was €1.92/kg. Friesian bullocks ran from €1.40/kg up to €1.80/kg.

A small selection of dairy-beef breeds hovered between €1.90/kg and €2/kg. Continental lots here ranged from €2.05/kg to €2.40/kg.

Heavy bullocks over 600kg averaged €1.87/kg, with dairy breeds ranging from €1.20/kg to €1.90/kg and continentals falling between €1.90/kg and €2.40/kg.

Heifers

Store heifers weighing 400kg to 500kg averaged €2.04/kg, with the best quality regularly hitting the €2.20/kg mark and over. Plainer lots dipped down below €1.90/kg.

Forward stores in the 500kg to 600kg weight bracket averaged €2.03/kg, while the nicest quality made €2.20/kg and over.

Heavy heifers weighing 600kg-plus averaged €2.04/kg, with another 10c to 20c/kg needed to purchase good quality.

Cows

Close to 200 cows were sold too, the bulk of which were from the dairy herd. Friesian cows ranged between €300/head and €950/head.

Very plain cows failed to make €1/kg, while good-quality Friesians could make €100 to €250 with their weight.

Continental cows started at €950/head and topped at €1,350/head.

Kilkenny Mart

Commission in the mart is €12 to €15 to the seller and €10 to the buyer.

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.