Camera at the mart attended the weekly dairy sale at Kilrea Mart this week. There was a big entry of freshly calved dairy stock, as well as a small entry of in-calf animals.

With a good showing of buyers around the ring, there was a positive note to the sale, with younger cows a flying trade.

Mart manager Mark Stewart commented on the sale, stating that sale numbers are good at present, with prices buoyant on the back of a good milk price this winter.

He added that buyer demand is strongest for good-quality freshly-calved heifers and younger cows, but that plainer stock are still selling well.

Prices

Topping the trade on Tuesday was £2,220 paid for an Ayrshire cow, born January 2014.

The animal calved three weeks prior to sale and has averaged 32 litres daily.

Another February-born 2014 Ayrhsire cow sold for £1,470. Calved three weeks, the cow is yielding 36 litres daily.

Holstein animals sold to a peak of £2,120 for a second-calving animal, born in December 2014. The animal is calved four weeks and yielding a fraction shy of 60 litres daily.

Calved Holstein heifers were a sharp trade, with several lots selling from £1,500 to £1,660 for well-developed animals in good body condition and calved less than two weeks.

Plainer heifers that are three to four weeks calved sold from £1,100 to £1,400.

Holstein cows started slowly, but demand picked up as the sale progressed. Good-quality cows in their second lactation sold from £1,240 to £1,400, with plainer types selling to £1,100.

Older cows sold from £700 to £930 for animals in their third and fourth lactations and calved less than one month.

Dispersal sale

Sale numbers were also boosted by a special entry of dairy stock from the Moyarget herd of pedigree Holsteins.

Owners Michael and Sue Stewart-Moore forwarded 84 of their milking herd as part of a herd dispersal.

Prices peaked at £2,400 for freshly calved heifers. The main trade saw heifers and young cows selling from £1,600 to £2,400, with older cows selling closer to £1,500.

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