A good week’s weather across the country last week lifted the spirits of many, with a lot of cattle turned out towards the end of last week.

Grazing conditions continue to be tricky in the northwest. However, things are starting to slowly look like spring, with grass changing colour and stock reappearing in fields.

While the trade still isn’t back to its highest point, it is improved and mart managers are reporting a real solid demand remaining for stock.

Early April is usually the peak of the grass trade, but with a very rough April weather-wise, this peak will have kicked on by a few weeks.

There are still thousands of farmers who purchase stock to summer graze.

Many of these will have applied for the Area of Natural Constraint support payment and one of the criteria for this scheme is that you must have animals in your herd number for seven months.

Out in force

These customers usually appear in April, but, again, the rain disrupted normal play, so they have been out in force this week around the ring.

Most of this buying is completed by agents, with a few big orders to be filled over the last 10 days adding some life to the trade.

Feedlots and larger finishers appear to be a little more subdued in the last two weeks, with not as much activity as there was earlier in the year.

Factories are managing the supply of finished cattle and pulled some of their agents out of marts in a bid to reduce supplies further.

Taking a look at our Martbids analysis table this week, we see that the heavier cattle continue to be under a little pressure, with the average heifer over 600kg back by 3c/kg on last week’s trading.

Elsewhere in the heifer rings, it’s pretty much as you were, with the bottom two-thirds of stock in terms of quality making the most gains last week.

Lighter heifers in the 350kg to 400kg category, which are being snapped up by grass buyers, were up 10c/kg last week.

The top-priced heifers are the better-quality 400kg to 500kg continental heifers, which came in at €3.18/kg last week, an improvement of 5c/kg on the previous week’s trading.

It was a similar story in the bullock rings this week, with the 400kg to 600kg bullocks being in demand.

Continental bullocks

The top-quality continental bullocks in the 400kg to 500kg tapped out at €3.30/kg this week, an improvement of 6c/kg on last week’s price.

Average bullocks in the 500kg to 600kg weight bracket were up 6c/kg last week.

It’s a generally positive picture in the weanling rings, with exporters still very active for weanling bulls for the Turkish and middle eastern markets.

Lighter bulls in the 200kg to 300kg category saw the biggest improvement this week, with the top third of these bulls coming in at €3.88/kg.

Heifer weanlings also saw improvement, with the top-quality heifers in the 300kg to 400kg weight bracket selling for €3.56/kg this week.

Dry cows continue to be a very good trade, with the top third of dry cows coming in at €2.83/kg this week, with average-quality store cows coming in at €2.22/kg. Poorer-quality Friesian cows are back at €1.20/kg to €1.60/kg.