Quality calves catch eye as farmers defy changeable weather to attend busy marts
Unfortunately, however, I wasn’t the only fellow attending the sale on Tuesday last with a fondness for calves.
Tuesday’s calf trade in Corrin can only be described as depressingly lively, woefully positive. I didn’t get a look in.
The bulk of calves on offer were of the Aberdeen Angus variety, with most hovering around the €200 a head mark.
And after witnessing a handy month old Angus heifer hitting €325, I had seen more than enough. The day belonged to the calf seller. The calf trade was flying high. Mart manager, Tom McCarthy, who was on duty in Corrin last Tuesday, spoke to me about the strong cattle trade that exists in the marts at present.
“The vibrant cattle trade at the moment is very similar to what we were seeing back in March,” Tom said. “There is really no end to the demand this year for stock.”
And in Corrin on Tuesday, bullocks made from €230 to €690 over the kilo, with beef bullocks hitting a high of €790 with their weight. There was a lively trade for store heifers in Corrin, and here they made from €320 to €500 with their weight, with butcher types making up to €700 over the kilo. Dry cows in Corrin sold from €650 to €1,630 a head.
1 Fr steer 808kg 1600
1 Hr heifer 480kg 1115
2 Sim heifers 387kg 985
2 Lm heifers 368kg 935
3 AA heifers 295kg 760
1 Lm cow 712kg 1630
1 Fr cow 774kg 1390
Our topsy-turvy weather this summer with its rain and wind one day, and sunshine the next, reminds me a lot of an old Datsun Sunny I used to own about 25 years ago.
A Japanese import and white in colour, it was a contrary old car that didn’t know whether it was starting or stopping. It had a sun roof that sadly failed miserably when it came to keeping moisture out. Oh how I feared that sudden downpour when I journeyed anywhere in my old Datsun Sunny.
For a spell I grinned and beared the situation. I was young you see, and still wet behind the ears. But there comes a time in every man’s life when he can take no more, when it simply becomes one soaking too many. Lucky for me I was able to part with my Japanese import, sadly however it’s not as simple to part with a contrary summer. We can’t give it the heave ho and choose a more dependable model.
The mixed offering from the sky could well splutter on for some time yet.
However, even in the face of such climatic instability, the cattle trade remains strong. It seems it will take more than the frequent downpour to dampen the trade.
In Dungarvan on Monday, in spite of it being one of the worst days of the week for wind and rain, the message was upbeat from mart manager Ger Flynn. “We had a very good trade for all types of stores here on Monday,” Ger said, “especially for quality continental store heifers.”
2 Ch steers 587kg 1390
1 AA steer 770kg 1660
4 Lm steers 501kg 1205
1 AA heifer 695kg 1360
1 BB heifer 480kg 1260
1 Ch cow 695kg 1185
1 Hr cow 730kg 1300
“A small sale but a great trade,” was the word we received on Skibbereen mart after Friday’s cattle sale. Dry cows here sold from €150 to an impressive €900 with the kilo.
Continental bullocks in Skibbereen sold from €480 to €840 with the kilo. Aberdeen Angus and Hereford bullocks ranged in price from €400 to €605 with the kilo.
Friesian bullocks in Skibbereen sold from €350 to €500 with the kilo. Heifers on Friday sold from €400 to €700 with their weight.
Suckler stock in Skibbereen sold from €1,000 to €2,080.
4 Fr steers 297kg 655
3 AA steers 435kg 980
2 BB steers 460kg 1060
3 Lm heifers 321kg 930
4 Ch heifers 290kg 835
1 Ch cow 815kg 1710
1 Lm cow 830kg 1640
It was a good day of cattle trading in Macroom mart on Saturday with prices maintained across the board.
5 Hr steers 504kg 1170
1 BB steer 565kg 1270
1 Ch steer 445kg 1125
1 Ch heifer 595kg 1580
2 Lm heifers 435kg 1140
1 Ch cow 755kg 1400
1 Sim cow 700kg 1350
After the sale of cattle in Thurles mart on Monday mart manager Martin Ryan gave us this report. “We had a very big sale for the time of year,” Martin said. “There was no real change in the prices paid for cows, heifers or calves, with calves probably stronger than the previous week. However poorer quality bullocks were not as exciting in price, perhaps just a little weaker.”
7 AA steers 325kg 820
2 Lm steers 288kg 715
4 BB steers 456kg 1100
5 Fr steers 335kg 695
2 Ch steers 462kg 1160
2 Lm heifers 910kg 352
6 Hr heifers 338kg 830
Denis Kirby of Kilmallock mart reported a flying trade at Monday’s cattle sale. “We had a very big sale for June, (1,587 stock including 560 calves on offer). “There was a tremendous trade on Monday with sellers from as far away as Galway and Waterford with stock on offer. Calves here are meeting buyers from all over the country with the top selling calf on Monday being a Charolais bull calf, under four weeks selling for €660.”
Bullocks in Kilmallock made up to €2.72 per kg, with weanling bulls hitting the €3.36 per kg mark. Dry cows went to a high of €1.89 per kg. And heifers at the mart sold for up to €2.71 per kg.
On Monday next at Kilmallock mart, included in the cattle sale will be a clearance sale of 22 dairy cows.
Looking at dairy stock in Kilmallock, a four-year-old calved cow made €1,450. A five-year-old calved cow made €1,420. In breeding bulls, an Aberdeen Angus made €2,100. A Hereford bull made €1,740.
In suckling, a 10-year-old Belgian Blue and her Belgian Blue heifer calf made €1,800.
A five-year-old Charolais and her Belgian Blue bull calf €1,760. A five-year-old Limousin and her Limousin bull calf made €1,750.
2 Lm steers 358kg 940
2 Hr steer 370kg 900
2 AA steers 383kg 895
3 Ch steers 627kg 1440
3 Ch heifers 437kg 1055
1 BB heifer 475kg 1135
1 Ch heifer 495kg 1150
And finally for this week we go across to Kanturk mart in Cork, where after Tuesday’s cattle sale, local mart manager Seamus O’Keeffe gave us a positive report.
“We had a smaller sale of cattle today with 700 animals on offer, which included 350 calves,” he said.
“Bullock prices were the same as last week and all calves made big money with plenty of buyers present from around the country.”
3 Fr steers 680kg 1240
5 AA steers 542kg 1155
4 Hr steers 565kg 1080
4 Ch heifers 635kg 1190
1 AA heifer 570kg 1250
1 Fr cow 565kg 1370
1 Fr cow 700kg 1180
