Improved trade for quality stores

Marts: Quality stores met with an improved trade, but demand and prices for plain cattle eased at yesterday’s mart sales, where the numbers on offer were down on previous weeks and the live trade for cows has not mirrored the drop in factory prices.

Trade for quality store bullocks has been helped by the improvement in grass growth over the past week which has eased the shortage which was being felt on many livestock farms in recent weeks.

Quality store bullocks gained 20-30/head at Ennis Mart yesterday, with an improvement of E10/head at Kilkenny and maintained a good trade at Bandon and Blessington, all of which saw a drop in the numbers on offer.

The best of the heavy continental bullocks were an excellent trade at Ennis mart where up to E595 over /kg was paid for the tops. A Belgian Blue weighing 720kg sold for E1,315 and another at 722kg made E1,295. A 684kg Limousin x sold for E1,152 and a Charolais 674kg made E1,100. The heavy quality heifers made up to E370 over with plainer lots selling back to E170 over.

The cull cows ranged in price from E150 under /kg to E200 over weathering the worst of the drop in factory prices.

At Bandon Mart the heavy bullocks ranged E220-E340 over with the lighter stores making E170-360 and Friesians selling back to E70 over. There was no change in the heifer trade with the best of the continentals making up to E270 over /kg and Hereford and Angus ranging E90-E150 over.

There were over E500 head on offer at Kilkenny where the quality forward store bullocks were an improved trade at E290-E360 over and the medium weight were back 10/head on last week. They ranged E210-E360 over. There was strong demand for the beef heifers which made up to E400 over and back to E270 over.

Martin Ryan