Good milk prices didn’t spark any exceptional dairy stock prices at the annual Newport Christmas sale on Wednesday.

Over 100 lots of mostly dairy heifers and over 170 suckler lots went through the ring at the annual Lee Auctioneers sale of dairy stock and suckler cows.

Similarly on the suckler side, a lack of buyers due to a combination of poor road conditions and not enough winter feed probably held suckler prices slightly behind previous sales.

It is fair to say there were no real fancy dairy stock with good production figures on offer, and hence there were no real fancy prices for dairy stock.

Two maiden heifers born March 2016 and May 2016 sold for €640 each at Newport Mart.

Nice quality dairy stock made good money in the dairy ring. AI-bred, well-grown, purebred Holstein Friesian heifers made between €1,200 and €1,300.

The best prices were reserved for those heifers closer to calving and well grown. Lighter heifers due to calve in March and April with no signs of softening or no real pedigree information struggled to make between €1,000 and €1,100 each.

A white Holstein Friesian born November 2014 in calf to an Angus bull made €1,100.

A nice black Holstein Friesian heifer born 17 February 2016 and due to calve in February 2018 made €1,250.

Lot 25 a white Friesian in calf heifer (30/1/16) in calf to an AI Friesian and just beginning to show signs of softening made €1,070.

On the suckler side, nice first calved sucklers with a calf at foot freely made €1,300 to €1,400 each. Choice lots of older cows with a calf at foot made €1,500 to €1,700 each.

The first suckler into the sale ring at Newport was a big brown five-star Simmental heifer born March 2015 and scanned in calf to end of January to Limousin bull. She sold for €1,370.

One of the best prices of €1,520 was for a nice 2012-born AI-bred Charolais cow with a nice mid-November heifer calf at foot.

Poorer lots often struggled to make €1,000. A black Aberdeen Angus cow born 2011 in calf to a Limousin bull made €1,020.

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