Forward bullocks and Friesians lead mart price gains

I got a call just before 2pm last Tuesday from the Joe Duffy programme asking would I go on air to talk about that day’s IFA protest in Dublin.

Just as well it was two o’clock, because by 6pm, with eight mart reports on my desk, I would have had a hell of a job trying to explain why — if margins in the business are so tight — cattle farmers had added €50 to €100 euro a head to the prices they paid for stock in the last week!

Beginning in Corrin on Tuesday, where mart manager Sean Leahy was in top form. “We had a very big sale of stock and a very strong trade,” he said.