It’s a tale of two halves for the mart trade this week, as a gap has opened up between heavier forward cattle and lighter cattle suitable for going to grass.

March is always an in-between month, with weather dictating the trade.

The last week has been good, with ground drying and farmers being able to turn out stock.

Cold nights has meant grass growth hasn’t really kicked off yet and grass supplies are tight, especially on some southern farms where cattle have been turned out a few weeks.

The first two weeks of April are usually peak for numbers and prices, as grass buyers fill up for the summer grazing season. 2022 looks like it’s going to a little different.

Uncertainty

Uncertainty around long-keep cattle could dent confidence in the market and we have started to see a little bit of this in this week’s MartBids analysis.

Higher store prices, high fertiliser prices and high feed prices will all add to the price needed at the end of the year.

Lighter, plainer cattle have taken the biggest hit, with some cattle back as much as 20c/kg on the week. Prices for these cattle are still ahead of last year’s prices, but only just.

It will be interesting to see in the next two weeks when grass growth kicks off what impact this will have on grass cattle.

New scheme

The new tillage scheme announced this week by the Minister for Agriculture aims to take out 25,000ha of grass and put it into tillage. This will also likely temper demand, especially in the southern half of the country, where this land will come out of grass in the next few weeks.

Forward stores

On the other hand, forward store cattle continue to be a very solid trade.

Factory agents continue to be very hungry for short-keep cattle, with a few big players still very active around mart rings and online.

The top third of heifers weighing 500kg to 600kg are still hitting €2.94/kg, which is an exceptional price for heavy animals.

The top third of 600kg+ animals are also knocking on the door of €3/kg.

On the calf front, higher numbers of Herford and Aberdeen Angus calves have pulled the trade back a little, especially for lighter calves.

Lighter calves are being bought from €150 to €180, while heavier, older calves are still hitting €230 to €300/head.

Lighter Friesian calves are still a tough sell, with exporters only willing to go to €40 to €50/head for the right type of calves. Exporters are also rejecting anything with Jersey genetics, with these calves being sold for as low as €2/head.

Highlight

Cull cows continue to be the highlight of the trade this week, with a number of smaller factories specialising in the wholesale market driving the trade again.

Dry cows are regularly hitting €2.60/kg in marts, taking top-quality 800kg cows across €2,000. Plainer suckler cows are back at €2.20/kg to €2.40/kg, while Friesian cows for feeding are being bought at €1.50/kg to €1.90/kg.

Good-quality weanlings are steady, with poorer-quality weanlings taking a little drop this week. Heavier bull weanlings were also a little easier this week.