Monday last saw Tuam Mart, Co Galway, host its weekly cattle sale, which presented both a lively and desirable trade.

The manoeuvre by factories pulling the price this week did not appear to hinder trade, with premium prices paid for both quality store and beef cattle, with a brisk ringside and online activity from buyers.

A noticeable lift in prices for heifers and bullocks was evident when compared with last week's sale.

Cow trade

An exceptional cow trade was presented at this week's sale, with prices that surpassed €2,000/head.

Some lighter cows met an average of around €2/kg. Heavier cows over 700kg made an overall sale average of €2.25/kg, with a top price in this weight bracket of €2.42/kg for a 735kg Limousin cow.

Lighter cows saw a steady trade similar to previous weeks, with these cows averaging €2.15/kg.

The overall sale average for cows on the night was €2.05/kg, with some dairy-bred stock bringing the average down in the lighter weight brackets.

This first-prizewinning Belgian Blue bull weanling weighed 390kg and sold for €1,200 (€3.07/kg).

There was a tremendous heifer trade, with stores making in excess of €2.80/kg and beef cattle surpassing the €2.50/kg mark.

There was strong demand for lighter, flashy continental heifer types by farmers.

Super heifer trade

Some of these heifers met a super trade, with heifers weighing 350kg to 450kg meeting a sale average of €2.60/kg, with some top prices in this weight bracket coming in close to €2.90/kg.

Slightly heavier heifers at 500kg-plus met a sale average of €2.50/kg, with a top price in this weight bracket of €2.75/kg.

Heavier heifers over 600kg met a similar trade to the lighter heifers, with these coming in at an average of €2.40/kg and a top price in this category of €2.53/kg.

Positive bullock vibes

The bullock trade continued the positive vibes, with the forward store bullock coming out on top here.

Some bullocks under 400kg crossed €3/kg, while heavier bullocks were also a strong trade, coming in at an average of €2.45/kg for bullocks over 700kg.

Monday last saw the first of the weekly Monday evening weanling sales in Tuam, where a small number of weanlings went through the ring and were met with a lively trade with exporters, farmers and northern buyers all getting in on the action.

Weanling heifers met a super trade, with these averaging over €3/kg, while the top heifers came in at €3.61/kg.

Bulls met a similar trade, with these coming in at an average of €3/kg also, with a top price of €3.25/kg in this category.