There was a lift in numbers at this week’s general cattle in Corrin Mart. Speaking to mart manager Sean Leahy after the sale, he said “there was an extra 100 cattle from last week’s sale. The biggest lift was definitely in the number of bullocks sold”.

On prices, he said “quality was dear but plainer ones were about the same or a small bit back on last week.” That said, he added that “we still had a 95% clearance”.

Farmer activity is driving the demand for lighter, quality cattle but heavier lots are feeling the pinch due to very unstable factory prices for beef, Sean reckoned.

Bullocks

Table 1 gives a full breakdown of bullock prices on the day.

In the 350kg to 400kg weight band, the sale average was €1.80/kg for 83 animals, all of which were dairy-bred. Friesians and Friesian crosses ranged from €1.15/kg to €1.63/kg.

Angus- and Hereford-cross bullocks started at €1.75/kg and came in at a top price of €2.08/kg for the better quality lots.

From 400kg to 500kg, the average was slightly higher at €1.84/kg thanks to a small number of continentals making up the numbers.

Here, Friesians set the ball in motion at €2.07/kg and came to a top price of €1.69/kg for well-fleshed types. Angus and Hereford bullocks then ranged from just over the €1.70/kg mark to over €2/kg.

The small number of continentals ranged from €2.05/kg to a top price of €2.48/kg for a pen of five Limousin-cross bullocks weighing 491kg on average.

Those weighing between 500kg and 600kg averaged €1.69/kg. There was minimal variation in prices within breeds with all Friesians selling for between €1.50/kg and €1.64/kg and all Angus and Herefords selling for between €1.72/kg to €1.85/kg.

Cattle over 600kg averaged €1.70/kg. This weight category consisted of primarily Friesian-cross cattle which sold for €1.27/kg to €1.72/kg.

A small number of Herefords and continental crosses made between €1.73 to €2.01/kg.

Heifers

Table 2 gives a full breakdown of heifer and cow prices on the day.

Those from 350kg to 400kg sold for an average price of €1.93/kg. There were no Friesian lots here so Angus and Herefords started the selling from €1.60/kg to €1.95/kg, while a small number of continental-cross heifers made from €1.95/kg to €2.30/kg.

The average for heifers from 400kg to 500kg was €1.94/kg. Angus and Herefords sold for between €1.85/kg to €1.95/kg, while a bigger number of continentals made between €1.95/kg to €2.22/kg.

Cows

Leahy said that the trade for cows was good with roughly half of the lots coming from the parlour and half-dry cows.

Friesians made up the bulk of the cows sold on the day. Prices for these ranged from €1/kg up to €1.57/kg for better fleshed lots. That was €640 to €1,000 per head. The average price was €1.48/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.