Green arrows are always good and this week’s MartBids analysis table is dominated by them. That means that prices are up across the board for nearly all categories of stock.

There was a fear in March that with higher input costs, especially fertiliser, this could quell the spring store trade.

The huge uncertainty around beef price in the back end was also seen as a potential negative for grass buyers.

Mart managers were worried, but their worries have failed to materialise to any great extent and last week saw a lot more buyers back at the ringside looking for cattle to graze for the next few months.

Bigger numbers coming out in February and March has meant we haven’t seen the traditional huge sales that sometimes take place in April.

There is also the fact that finishers currently selling finished cattle are getting on pretty good, with most finished cattle coming close to €2,000 or over it.

That means these customers are pretty strong when they arrive back at the ring to replace the animals they have killed.

Factories are on the hunt for heavy cattle, be it cows, bulls, bullocks or heifers. Contract finishers are very hungry for short-keep cattle destined for a 60- to 80-day finish.

Traditional summer grazers who usually buy to meet the Area of Natural Constraint scheme stocking rate requirements have been more active in the last seven to 10 days, with the end of the month being a deadline for many to have stock in their herd. This has lifted the grass cattle trade and put some competition around the ring.

Weanlings

Weanlings are the highlight of this week’s table, with almost all categories showing an increase on price on last week.

Bull weanlings saw an improvement across all weights, with 300kg to 400kg bull weanlings seeing a particular big lift this week. The top third hit €3.22/kg, which puts a 350kg weanling at an average price of €1,127/head this week.

Weanling heifers didn’t see as much movement, but the trade remains positive. On the store side, average heifers are working off €2.52/kg, which means a 400kg heifer is trading around the €1,000/head mark. This would include a lot of Angus and Herford stock from the dairy herd.

Dry cows

Dry cows remain a very solid trade, with both feedlot buyers and factories very active for suitable cows.

Fleshed cows for next-day slaughter are making anything from €2.60/kg to €2.90/kg, depending on weight and quality.

Forward store cows are making anything from €2.50/kg to €2.70/kg. Lighter suckler cows are trading from between €2.20/kg and €2.40/kg.

It’s a similar positive story north of the border, with Clogher Mart having a very big sale of 1,200 cattle last Saturday.

Fat cattle were the highlight of the sale, with finished bullocks being an exceptional trade. Bullocks weighing 700kg were regularly hitting €2.80/kg to €3.00/kg. Finished heifers were a similar trade.

Heavy young cows were also in demand, with €2,641 paid for an 870kg Limousin cow (€3.03/kg). Northern factories increased beef quotes last week on the back of strong demand, which has lifted the fat cattle trade across the province.