Plain weanlings hard to sell

Marts: The weanling trade is being driven by the scale of quality with a difference of more than €400 between stock of similar weight, as the margin between the prices being paid by export buyers and the home farmer trade continues to widen to a decisive difference in the return for producers.

While €600 over €/kg was exceeded for top quality continental bulls which sold for up to €1,000/head at Ennis Mart yesterday, the plain stock were hard to sell with some of the bulls changing hands for €180 over €/kg with farmers showing much more caution than previous years on the prices that they are prepared to pay as they measure the impact of higher feed costs facing feeders this winter.

Mart manager Martin McNamara said the number of weanlings on offer was small for the venue at this time of the year. The smaller sale, 740 head on offer, was probably contributed to by the good weather which kept sellers away from the mart with good ground conditions putting on no pressure to sell weanlings which are continuing to thrive well.

While the export trade for the really high-quality continental weanlings is a flier, the home trade is settling into a pattern which is returning €60-€100/head less than autumn 2006, which is now becoming established as the norm of the market.

Top selling weanling bulls at Ennis included a Belgian Blue weighing 385kg sold for €1,000, a Belgian Blue weighing 325kg sold for €900, a lot of two Charolais weighing 395kg sold for €820 and a Limousin weighing 395kg sold for €790. The weaning bulls ranged €180 over to €615 over.

Up to €415 over was paid for the best of the continental weanling heifers. Prices ranged back to €180 over for the plainer lots.

Top prices were paid for: a Charolais heifer weighing 375kg sold for €790; a Limousin weighing 330kg sold for €770; a Belgian Blue weighing 285kg sold for €650, and a 460kg Limousin 460kg sold for €820.