Mart beef animals
One of those managers was Marion Devane of Tuam mart. She said that as well as their normal sale, they had a special sale of Limousin and Simmental weanlings, which brought numbers up to 500. Marion said that farmers were more active than recently, and that there was definitely more confidence about, and the trade was overall improved.
In relation to the special weanling section, she said shippers were “active but selective”. Asking what she meant exactly, she said that they appeared to be limiting themselves to just the Limousin bull weanlings.
“Farmers were able to compete at slightly lesser prices for the heifers and the Simmental bulls.”
In relation to the match — and the excellent display by both sides — she said, “We only drew”.
Another man who shares my interest in the hurling outcome is Tom McCarthy at Bandon mart.
Cork people, he said, want Galway to win, “because we want Christy Ring’s record of eight All Irelands to remain intact”.
I smiled at that, thinking that everyone has an angle.
In relation to the mart trade in Bandon on Monday, Tom said, “Through and through, it was a good sale”.
There was a “positive improvement, with more farmers out than before”.
The most marked improvement, Tom felt, was in the 2011-born stock, while the heavier or factory types were “broadly similar to the previous week”.
Tom also noted that although numbers were similar to the previous week, “this same week last year was bigger”.
The reason, he felt, was the run of bigger than normal sales they had in July and August.
August, he said, was “exceptionally big for numbers”. Heifers were, he said, a “very good trade”, with prices ranging from €320 to €770 with the weight.
Dry cows made from €100 to €555 over, while the store type Friesian bullock made from €180 to €300 with the weight.
Heavier Friesian types pushed €400 over.
The calf ring saw Hr/AA heifers make €140 to €250, while the continental heifer calves came in at between €190 and €340 a piece. Continental bulls ranged between €280 and €340 each.
The previous Friday saw the sale in Carrick on Suir dominated by “serious demand for good cattle”, said Kilkenny-born auctioneer Michael Cunningham.
As in Bandon, the “good heifer was a very good trade” while the plainer Friesian type bullock was “poor”, Michael said.
But the better Friesian animal met “a fair enough trade”.
In relation to the hurling, he paused to consider before replying emphatically “We had a brilliant second half!”
Heading to North Tipperary next and the sale in Nenagh on Tuesday, Michael Harty told me that their trade was firmer, with a few more men out to buy.
Although there were 450 animals present (including 100 heifers), Michael felt it wasn’t a particularly big sale, and given what has already gone through the system, he did not really expect any “savage sales, numbers wise” this autumn.
The effects of the bad summer continue to be felt up that part of the world, with Michael commenting that he saw a number of dairy men, normally “October sellers”, arrive on Monday. A decision prompted by a combination of the need “to lessen the load and make room for the cows” as they begin their autumn grazing rotations, he felt.
In relation to beef, Michael felt that the factory men were definitely “more anxious”.
With 350 cattle for sale in Enniscorthy, Co Wexford, also on Tuesday of this week, Tom Harrington, like Michael Harty of Nenagh felt it “was a handy size sale but a full clearance”.
He described prices as “unchanged” and the trade as “steady”.
However, I detected a more confident tone, especially for the beef animal, with some pushing €930 with the weight, while the better stores were up at €2.20 a kilo or slightly better — as in the case of the 490 kilo Charolais who made €1,100.
Middling cattle though, were a “middling trade”, said Tom.
Continuing with Tuesday, but this time at Kanturk in Co Cork, where Michael Scanlon said they had “an outstanding yard of weanlings.”
The condition and quality, he said, reflected the fact that their owners had decided to feed them during the poorer weather, a decision that “reaped good rewards” on the day, as the general run of stock saw the bulls averaging €400 to €600 with the weight, and heifers €300 to €600, also with the weight.
Kanturk mart have just begun a series of free draws for their customers.
Using their computer system, they have identified all customers who since the start of the year have done business in the mart, buyers and sellers alike, and on each mart day during September, they will be drawing ten lucky winners, each of which will receive a €150 voucher for feed. That’s 40 winners totalling €6,000 worth of feed! A tremendous and very generous commitment, and a recognition of the tough times their customers have had to endure this summer. Well done to all involved.
Meanwhile, over in Castleisland on Monday, the trade has “stabilised” as the factories begin to push their prices upwards once again and the effect trickles down to the ring side, said manager Richard Harnett.
Richard said farmers were once again “more confident and more prominent” on Monday.
He also said that have had a lot of queries from potential buyers both shippers and farmers, as to potential numbers. However, a lot of those enquiring were saying they won’t give any more than €2 a kilo for stock.
They may be setting themselves a limit — but as Richard said, “They won’t buy what they want at that price”.
He pointed out to me that €2 a kilo equates to last year’s prices, while beef today is about “30 cent a kilo more in the factories”.
Kilmallock on Monday saw over 1,100 animals on show, with Denis Kirby reporting, “Trade was very strong”, with heifers very much in demand, as at other parts, and prices “normalising” around €2.20 a kilo.
The bullock trade (there were 550 present), saw prices for stores up by between “€20 to €25 a head”, Denis said. The heavier 2010 animal saw very keen competition among the finishers and factory men, with Denis commenting that, “No one got to buy really big numbers”, as the bidding “spread out”.
An unusual feature for September, he said, was the 20 dairy cows for sale, with prices topping out at €1,450 for in-calf stock.
The 80 cull cows present also met a buyout trade, with prices improved.
“Improved” was also the word used by Sean Ryan of Sixmilebridge mart to describe their trade last Saturday.
It was a relatively large sale, and Sean commented on the number of under-finished stock that are now gradually making their way into the sales rings.
He reckoned, “Lads are weighing up their options” — and are choosing the mart road as opposed to expensive further feeding.
In relation to the men who might be tempted to buy some of these animals, Sean wonders how far they will be prepared to commit themselves numbers wise, this autumn given those extra feed costs?
Although he can’t see the traditional finisher leaving his sheds completely empty, he said, “I can’t see them filling them either, without some form of guarantee on winter and spring factory prices”.
Also of interest to him is the numbers of stores that will appear this autumn as bullocks. Sean considers it could be less than anticipated, but not for the reason given by Michael Harty of Nenagh, that big sales during the summer may have lessened the potential autumn supply.
Instead, Sean reckons that there may yet be a lot of bulls in the system, which will impact on the possible numbers of steers.
The truth, if such can be divined, may lie somewhere between both ideas.
