The annual special Christmas sale at Newport Mart on the north Tipperary and Limerick border saw good crowds and stock numbers, despite the very wet weather. There was a dairy sale of some freshly calved cows, but mostly in-calf heifers.

Very nice in-calf Holstein Friesian heifers with excellent size and weight were freely making between €1,400 and €1,600, while more middle-of-the-road dairy stock made between €1,000 and €1,100 and a number left the ring unsold for under €1,000.

Auctioneer James Lee said a small number of freshly calved dairy stock (cows and heifers) from Abbeyfeale made €1,300 to €1,400 each. James commented that the majority of the buyers were dairy farmers, with little or no exporters interested in good-quality stock at the prices they were making.

Local dairy farmers the Ryan brothers, Ailbe and John, had good-quality Holstein Friesian stock on offer and it’s fair to say most of them made in the €1,400 to €1,600 bracket. AI sire and EBI value was announced for all stock when they entered the ring.

Suckler sale

There was also a good selection of commercial suckler cows and heifers. Just as the dairy sale ended, there were two pedigree Limousins on offer from Denis Corrigan. One second-calver made €1,680, while another due in April to a pedigree Limousin bull made €1,560.

After these, there was a special entry of 15 very nice Limousin in-calf heifers from John Morrissey, Lackamore, Newport. All the heifers weighed well over 600kg and were mostly spring 2014-born. They were due to calve from mid-January onwards to a pedigree Limousin bull, but many didn’t show any signs of softening just yet. They were excellent stock, in great condition with good size. Many of the heifers made over €1,600 with a top price of €1,800 for a real nice dark red heifer with good length. The rest made between €1,400 and €1,500.

Suckler cows showing signs of softening made good money, but average-sized stock with no details of bulling dates didn’t make good money. Some older cows (five- and six-year-old cows) with good frame and visibly in calf made between €1,200 and €1,450 each. There was no mention of EBI stars or any breeding information for any of the suckler stock.

Next normal cattle sale is Thursday 7 January. Commission rates are €19 to the seller and 2.5% to the buyer. See more details on www.farmersjournal.ie.