A 2020-born 876kg Belgian Blue cow secured the highest price of £2,460 at the Co Down mart run by Rathfriland Farmers Co-op Society Ltd last Friday 7 August. Other top prices paid for cull cows included a 754kg Speckle Park at £2,140, while a young Limousin cow weighing 706kg made £2,100. There was a large show of stores, weanlings and calves across the two rings, helped in part, by dry conditions in the local area.
However, with factories threatening a pull in finished cattle prices, there was a little more caution among buyers, although good-quality lots remain a sharp trade. Weanlings peaked at a top price of £2,030 paid for a 524kg Belgian Blue male (387p/kg), although some lighter lots sold for higher prices per kg.
Heifer weanlings sold to £2,100 for a 460kg Limousin (456p/kg), while older heifers sold to a top of £1,940, paid for a 690kg Angus (383p/kg). A 540kg Belgian Blue made £1,920 (356p/kg) and a 572kg Blonde D’Aquitaine sold for £1,900 (332p/kg).
Among the store bullocks on offer, the leading price was the £2,360 paid for a 644kg Limousin (366p/kg), with a 638kg Limousin at £2,320 (364p/kg) and a similar 624kg lot at £2,240 (359p/kg).
In the dropped calf ring, some very high prices continue to be paid, including £1,050 for a Belgian Blue bull, with other stronger bull calves making over £800.
A select number of older Belgian Blue heifer calves made over £1,000. Younger heifer calves generally sold between £300 and £500, depending on quality.
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