Good-quality and lighter stock met with a brisk trade at Tuesday’s weanling, suckler and calf sale in Ennis, according to mart manager Martin McNamara.

“The trade was very much similar to the good prices we saw here last week,” he said.

“Perhaps the strong heifers weren’t just a good but that’s comparing to a very hot trade last Tuesday.”

Numbers were also steady with close to 450 booked in for the sale. This has been the case since early March. “Numbers have been very consistent for the last six weeks. I’d be expecting another two strong weeks and then it’s likely they will start to slip,” Martin said.

Weanling bulls

Farmer buyers, combined with strong shipper activity, meant a lively trade in the bull ring. High-quality, lighter lots met the best trade (Table 1).

Over 120 bulls in the 300kg to 400kg category went under the hammer. The average price was €2.45/kg but good-quality lots consistently hit north of €2.70/kg.

Lighter bulls, weighing between 200kg and 300kg averaged €2.66/kg, with the top-third of prices hitting the €3/kg mark.

Even plainer lots in this category met with strong demand, with the average for the bottom-third still exceeding €2.35/kg, marking a €0.35/kg jump on last week.

Notable prices included €835 for a 285kg Limousin cross bull, born on 20 July and €950 for a 325kg Limousin cross bull, born on 28 July.

Heavier bulls between 400kg and 450kg averaged €2.25/kg. That’s back €0.10/kg from the previous week.

According to McNamara, farmer buyers appeared to be willing to go the extra length for quality in the bull ring, while shippers were content with some of the heavier, less fancy bulls.

Weanling heifers

Farmer and feedlot buyers drove trade in the heifer ring. There appears to be minimal shipper demand for females at present (Table 2).

Again, good-quality and lighter heifers were hitting the highest prices per kilo.

In the 200kg to 300kg bracket, 25 lots averaged just over €2.60/kg. The highest quality was well able to make over €2.90/kg, however.

A further 30 lots at 300kg to 400kg were offered up. The average price was €2.42/kg, but €2.72/kg was the going rate for top-quality continentals.

Noteworthy prices included a 12-month-old, 305kg Charolais cross heifer selling for €870 and a 10-month-old, 280kg Charolais heifer selling for €565 along with her weight.

Sucklers and calves

There was good interest for suckler pairs on the day too. A young, continental cow with a calf at foot had the potential to make over €2,000.

Two examples include a first-calver with a Limousin cross calf at foot which made €2,420. The same farmer got €2,120 for a similar pair.

In the calf ring, prices have steadied and even hardened, according to McNamara, particularly for dairy-cross calves. The demand here is being driven by strong calf exports.

Analysis for this report was generated from the MartBids app. MartBids is a collaboration between the Irish Farmers Journal and livestock marts. The app is available for download on iPhone or Android on the App Store or Google Play. With this app, all of the information that is displayed on the mart board is now available on your smartphone, long before the animal enters the sales ring.