Cattle mart report: Macroom’s charity event demonstrates true meaning of the season
Goodwill and good humour were the order of the day, as Macroom mart held a charity auction in aid of Temple Street Children’s Hospital, Crumlin Children’s Hospital as well as for Marymount Hospice.
The top seller at the charity auction was a Limousin heifer donated by the O’Flynn family, Coachford. This animal weighed 750kg, with celebrity auctioneer Briege Corkery bringing down the hammer at €2,600.
Another charity highlight was the sale of two lambs donated by ten year old Clodagh O’Keeffe from nearby Terelton. Plucky Clodagh not only donated the lambs, but also went on to sell them in person.
They were selling for €125 a piece before she suggested that they “round it off to €150 a lamb.” It was the nice bit of ‘rounding off’.
And of course she got it too. I see a bright future in store for Miss O’Keeffe, should she choose livestock auctioneering as her career path.
Organiser of the charity event and Cork marts auctioneer, Jerh O’Sullivan, was blown away with the support the initiative received.
On Saturday he thanked businesses and farmers locally for their generosity in donating animals and items for the good causes. And also the buyers were thanked, as were the mart staff and mart manager, John O’Mahony, whose support and enthusiasm made the day the success that it was. It’s an event that is sure to be repeated.
And elsewhere in the mart on Saturday it was business as usual. In Macroom mart on Saturday dry cows sold from €165 under to €560 over the kilo. Continental bullocks made from €290 to €560 over the kilo. Hereford and Aberdeen Angus bullocks sold from €240 to €480 over their weight. Heifers sold from €235 to €595 over their weight. Weanling bulls in Macroom sold from €275 to €465 over the kilo, with weanling heifers making from €230 to €495 over the kilo.
No Breed Sex Weight €
- 1 Hr steer 465kg 900
- 1 AA steer 435kg 915
- 4 Lm steers 480kg 1040
- 1 Ch heifer 540kg 1135
- 3 Lm heifers 480kg 1020
- 1 Lm cow 780kg 1340
- 1 Ch cow 675kg 945
Many marts this week are reporting large entries of cattle for the time of the year. There are a lot of stragglers about it seems. And this isn’t too surprising when you consider that our winter has really only kicked off with the last week. Down here in the south we have experienced one of the latest grazing seasons that I have ever seen. Cattle, up to last week, had been having a whale of a time.
So for cattle to be appearing only now at the mart, I feel is not too bizarre. It’s no more bizarre than you or I turning up late for mass on a Sunday morning after a mighty night on the beer. You can’t expect to be the first man in the church, and you the last man to leave the pub. Lateness in circumstances such as these are a thing more expected, than surprising.
And in Kilmallock mart numbers of cattle on offer followed the very trend. The mart had 1000 cattle on offer on Monday, up 33% on the same sale last year.
Denis Kirby of GVM reported “the trade was very firm in all rings.” Bullocks here sold for up to €1400 each, or €2.35 per kg. Dry cows hit €1155 each, or €2.07 per kg. Heifers went to a high of €1145, or €2.10 per kg. Weanling bulls made up to €860 each, or €3.10 per kg, while weanling heifers hit €900 a head or €2.70 per kg. A special entry of 50 Friesian weanling heifers, in the dairy ring, made up to €740 each. Suckler cows made up to €1100 (paid for a 3 year old Charolais springing down to Limousin).
The final sale of cattle at Kilmallock mart for 2016 is next Monday, December 19.
No Breed Sex Weight €
- 2 BB steers 398kg 845
- 4 Lm steers 353kg 830
- 8 Hr steers 383kg 820
- 1 Hr heifer 330kg 625
- 4 AA heifers 328kg 615
- 1 Lm cow 450kg 930
- 1 Fr cow 485kg 740
Bandon mart on Monday had 220 calves on offer, with Friesian bull calves selling from €60 to €320 a head.
Dry cows here sold from €180 under to €335 with the kilo. Continental bullocks here sold from €400 to €650 with the weight. Aberdeen Angus and Hereford bullocks sold from €300 to €500 with the kilo. Friesian bullocks sold from €200 to €450 with the kilo. Heifers in Bandon made from €250 to €600 with the kilo.
No Breed Sex Weight €
- 1 Ch steer 545kg 1170
- 3 Lm steers 463kg 1020
- 2 Fr steers 475kg 780
- 3 Hr heifers 386kg 750
- 1 AA heifer 650kg 1250
- 1 AA cow 620kg 860
- 1 Fr cow 745kg 1030
We go next to Martin Ryan of Thurles mart for the following report. “Last Monday we had unprecedented numbers of cattle for the time of the year. The trade was a little tougher than last week, but the quality on offer was not of the same standard as last week it has to be said.”
No Breed Sex Weight €
- 3 Lm steers 373kg 805
- 4 Ch steers 560kg 1150
- 7 AA steers 517kg 1060
- 1 Sim heifer 420kg 760
- 3 Lm heifers 465kg 925
- 1 Hr cow 655kg 850
- 1 Fr cow 445kg 560
In Skibbereen mart on Friday, dry cows made from €140 under to €590 with the weight. Continental bullocks sold from €295 to €550 with the weight. Aberdeen Angus and Hereford bullocks sold from €240 to €495 with the kilo. Heifers in Skibbereen made from €250 to €625 with the kilo. Weanling bulls sold from €280 to €440 over the kilo, with weanling heifers making from €260 to €535 over the kilo.
No Breed Sex Weight €
- 2 Lm steer 495kg 990
- 2 Ch steers 455kg 1005
- 2 Hr steers 550kg 1000
- 1 Ch heifer 410kg 900
- 1 Lm heifer 570kg 1150
- 1 Fr cow 580kg 910
- 1 Ch cow 700kg 1290
And next we move to Kanturk where mart manager, Seamus O’Keeffe, gave us the following report. “On Tuesday we had 500 cattle on offer. Next Tuesday,
December 20th, is our last sale for 2016. On this day we will have a show for all animals in the mart, sponsored by North Cork Co-Op Creameries.
Our mart here reopens on January 10th and included in our first sale of 2017 will be a herd clearance of 90 dairy cows, 40 in-calf heifers and 40 yearling heifers. This is an outstanding herd, calving early January to April, all are in-calf to top Friesian AI bulls. Herd Average 1350 gallons, butterfat 4.13, protein 3.495, SCC 190.”
No Breed Sex Weight €
- 4 Fr steers 585kg 980
- 2 Hr steers 490kg 915
- 3 AA steers 480kg 890
- 2 Fr heifers 500kg 880
- 2 Lm heifers 395kg 795
- 1 Fr cow 755kg 980
- 1 AA cow 760kg 925
No Breed Sex Weight €
- 2 AA steers 635kg 1295
- 2 BB steers 515kg 1070
- 2 Fr steers 430kg 800
- 7 Hr steers 480kg 960
- 3 Sim heifers 495kg 935
- 4 AA heifers 485kg 885
- 3 Ch heifers 390kg 870
Kilkenny mart had 720 cattle on offer last Thursday. Mart manager George Candler reported a bigger sale of cattle with quality cattle selling well.
The mart had 100 dry cows on offer and again here a firm trade was reported. In Kilkenny, Friesian cull cows sold from €0.75 to €1.70 per kilo. Continental cull cows sold from €1.30 to €2.06 per kilo.
No Breed Sex Weight €
- 2 Lm steers 600kg 1210
- 5 AA steers 390kg 760
- 5 Fr steers 597kg 1000
- 3 AA heifers 390kg 730
- 3 Hr heifers 520kg 985
- 1 Fr cow 780kg 1120
- 1 Hr cow 905kg 1380
Corrin mart manager, Sean Leahy, reported that the mart had “a good strong trade for bullocks,” and “a very large entry of dry cows” last Tuesday. The mart had 550 cattle on offer with store bullocks making from €120 to €500 over the kilo. Beef bullocks in Corrin made up to €630 with the kilo on Tuesday. Heifers here sold from €200 to €370 over the kilo, with butcher types making up to €570 with the kilo. A large entry of dry cows sold from €350 to €1270 a head.
No Breed Sex Weight €
- 3 AA steers 493kg 1075
- 5 Sim steers 413kg 870
- 5 Fr steers 435kg 740
- 1 Ch heifer 620kg 1170
- 1 Lm heifer 485kg 970
- 1 Fr cow 705kg 980
- 1 Hr cow 620kg 830
Speaking after Monday’s sale, Dungarvan mart manager, Ger Flynn, reported: “There has been improvement in the trade for bullocks and heifers in Dungarvan. We are still seeing big numbers of dry cows being sold with a good trade here also.”
