Marts are starting to get busy again ahead of the autumn sales period. A number of big weanling sales took place this week, including special sales in Ennis, Elphin and Balla, all good locations to test the trade.

Reports all came back good, with a solid trade being seen for good-quality weanlings.

Speaking to a number of mart managers this week, they said the trade was positive, with the only downside being a little less appetite for dairy-cross store animals in some marts.

Winter finishers and bull finishers in particular are out in force and are adopting a strong stance around the ring when purchasing this year’s complement of weanlings.

Looking at this week’s MartBids analysis table, it shows a positive trend, with very few minus figures after last week’s blip in the trade.

In the bullock category, the trade is very steady, with only very small movement in the price this week.

Top-quality heavy bullocks over 600kg are still up at €2.88/kg, with lesser-quality bullocks coming around €2.60/kg and dairy-cross and Frieisans coming in at €2.30/kg.

Lighter bullocks are also steady, with €2.78/kg being paid for high-end bullocks between 400kg and 500kg, while Freisian bullocks in this weight category are back at €1.80/kg to €1.90/kg.

Moving on to heifers, they are also a similar trade to last week, with top-quality heavy heifers up at €3.14/kg this week, with some exceptional prices being paid for heifers suitable for the bull.

Lighter heifers in the 400kg to 500kg bracket are also sailing along nicely at €2.77/kg for the higher-quality heifers.

Moving back to dairy-cross heifers in this weight bracket and €2/kg to €2.10/kg is buying a lot of them this week.

Roaring trade

Weanling bulls are a roaring trade, with all weight categories up across €3/kg this week.

Weanling bulls in the most popular weight category of 300kg to 400kg ranged in price from €3.29/kg for the top third back to €2.48/kg for the bottom third. Lighter bull weanlings in the 200kg to 300kg bracket were also a lovely trade this week, with high-quality stock hitting €3.37/kg.

Weanling heifers were also a solid trade, with average heavier heifers in the 400kg to 450kg bracket hitting €2.74/kg this week.

In the 300kg to 400kg bracket, the price paid for top-quality animals was around €3.25/kg, while more average-quality lots were back at €2.86/kg.

Stand-out trade

Cows remain the stand-out trade and, in some cases, are making as much or more than heavy bullocks.

Any farmer with small numbers of cows to sell are advised to use the mart option, as factory agents continue to pay above the odds in marts for factory-fit cows.

Top-quality heavy fleshed cows are hitting €2.50/kg to €2.80/kg, with wholesalers and factory agents active in every mart in the country.

Feeding cows are also a real solid trade, with €2/kg to €2.30/kg being paid for good-quality feeding cows. Friesian cows with flesh cover are working off €1.40/kg to €1.50/kg, with those lacking flesh and coming straight out of the parlour selling around €1.20/kg to €1.35/kg.