Numbers have again dropped this week in marts across the country.

Numbers heading into November were back 18% on the last full week of data from October.

This was added to this week by a further 7% drop on that same week. This drop was mostly to be expected, given the substantial numbers going through the scales through September and October.

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While cattle numbers are reducing, store and fed cattle continue to hold strong.

While prices are back slightly on summer trade, prices generally saw slight increases across the board this week.

The only cases where this was different was for lighter heifer stores, but even then the drop on the week was minimal.

While heifers of 600kg-plus saw a substantial increase of 20c/kg for the top-quality lots, it’s worth noting that some highly specialised in-calf heifer sales took place this week.

In one instance, a heifer hit five figures (detailed in mart report below).

A number of these sales took place in the last seven days.

As highlighted last week, seeing the biggest change in prices in recent weeks is weanlings.

Most affected by this downturn this week were the better-quality heifer lots.

Top third of heifer lots

The top third of heifer lots between 400kg and 450kg saw a massive drop of 25c/kg in the past week. This means heavy heifer weanling prices are back on average €100 per head on October prices.

Similarly, the top third of lots weighing from 300kg to 400kg saw a drop of 17c/kg on the week.

The most common weight bracket for weanling heifers continues to be that 200kg to 300kg mark. Here, prices dropped by 22c/kg on the week to settle at €2.78/kg.

While the drop for male weanlings was nowhere near as significant as the heifers, it’s worth remembering the drop in last week’s prices was much more.

Outperforming

Still, the male weanling continues to outperform the females by between 5c/kg and 10/kg on average.

Numbers of light bull weanlings sub-300kg increased this week, but with that came the most substantial drop.

Average price for bull weanlings weighing 200kg to 300kg rests at €2.28/kg, a drop of 15c/kg on the week.

If we look at how the average was affected, we can see that the bottom third of lots sold in this weight bracket saw the biggest drop, with average sinking back to €1.68/kg.

It’s worth noting that some of the lots contributing to this average could be first-cross dairy beef weanlings born in the spring.

One other point worth noting is that from early August, mart managers across the country were reporting that numbers of weanlings were out much earlier than usual.

With strong prices from early in the season, many of the heavier-muscled or more-forward stock were offered earlier than expected.

This in turn may also be contributing to lesser-quality lots now coming on stream, which could be a contributing factor to the reduction in prices.

Dry cow cattle prices again dropped slightly this week, with overall average now resting at €1.57/kg.

Trade remains strong for the well-fleshed young cow, with cows direct from the parlour bringing the average price down.