Central auctions Roscrea was one of the final marts to go ahead under old restrictions last Wednesday night.

The prospect of exclusion of ringside bidders the following day led to a surge in the number of weanling forward.

This six month old Blue heifer weighed 310kg and sold for €650 (€2.10/kg).

In total, nearly 600 weanling went through the mart, meeting a very strong trade. Top of proceedings was a call of €1,300 for a roan Limousin-sired heifer calf born in February and weighing 330kg, which sold for a massive €3.94/kg.

This seven month old Limousin heifer weighed 315kg and sold for €750 (€2.38/kg).

While this was the exception rather than the norm, prices remained strong across the board.

Speaking after the sale, mart manager Michael Harty said: “The bit of a rush before rules changed brought out more stock.

This nine month old Charolais heifer weighed 395kg and sold for €960 (€2.43/kg).

“There was a nice type of weanling throughout the sale and we noticed a lot more farmer customers and activity.”

Weanling heifers from the same weight division as the high seller were most numerous and saw the average hit €2.22/kg.

This February-born Belgian Blue bull calf weighed 385kg and sold for €710 (€1.84/kg).

That said, for the upper end, around €2.50/kg was easily achieved. Weanling heifers in excess of 400kg were scarce as the majority of lots were spring-born. Lighter well-made heifers continue to secure top prices, with the top third of lots between 200kg and 300kg selling for an impressive €2.64/kg.

The sale consisted of roughly 50% more bull weanlings over heifers. As the weeks move on, we’re seeing an increase in the number of male lots pushing passed the 400kg mark, with buyers starting to increase what they are willing to pay for these lots also.

This six month old Limousin bull weighed 390kg and sold for €900 (€2.30/kg).

Average for bulls in excess of 400kg rose by 11c/kg on the week to settle at €2.26/kg. Colour played a big part here and for the right type €2.40 to €2.60 was attainable.

Over 170 bulls between 300kg and 400kg were forward on the night, with averages up by 5c/kg on the week. An impressive average of €2.30/kg was achieved for the 150 sold.

This February-born Charolais heifer weighed 355kg and sold for €730 (€2.06/kg).

Heavily muscled Blues and Limousin were seen hitting €2.90/kg on a number of occasions.

While back on the week, the young stylish muscular bull calf was still in demand. Looking at the top third of lots between 200kg and 300kg, the average rests at a high €2.78/kg. This was led by a four-month-old Charolais that weighed 220kg and sold for €770 (€3.50/kg).

Other lots

This pair of eight month old Charolais bulls weighed on average 412kg and sold for €960 (€2.33/kg).

These four Charolais bulls had an average weight of 350kg and sold for €850 each (€2.43/kg).

This Limousin bull calf weighed 405kg and sold for €940 (€2.32/kg).

This 260kg Charolais bull calf born in April sold for €790 (€3.04/kg).

These April-born Charolais heifers had an average weight of 238kg and sold for €620 each (€2.61/kg).

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