Denis Lehane: Discussions on protocols for resumption of mart auctions
There are a lot of crazy things happening in the world at the moment.
Crude oil prices are at an all-time low (JR Ewing must be pulling his hair out).
Kim Jong-un is reportedly ill (which probably means he’s dead).
And the other night, the Rolling Stones, the oldest rock band in the world (combined age about 765), instead of cocooning and clutching their rosary beads, were the highlight of the ‘One World’ concert, with drummer Charlie Watts using the side of his armchair for drums.
The only stability it seems is in cattle trading, where (in spite of there being about as many marts in operation as there are teeth in a hen), all is calm. And this in itself is crazy. It makes about as much sense as Charlie Watts’ musical armchair.
Staying with crazy, I saw a video clip of a cat rearing young ducklings as if they were her own. But they weren’t her own of course, they belonged to a duck.
Or at least that’s what the video claimed. It originally came a farm in Clara, Co Offaly a few years ago.
It showed the cat (Della) nursing the young quacks along with her own kittens. They all thrived. An unnatural event for sure, but I didn’t hear the ducks complaining.
Which brings me nicely to the unnatural times in the cattle trade, with so many variants, stumbling blocks, and questions. Talk of buoyancy in the cattle business and of farmers seeking cattle to eat their grass, is skewed because we don’t have normally functioning cattle marts. It’s a bit like the cat rearing the ducklings, the job is being done by a whole host of methods, it’s not natural.
There’s a lot of head scratching by farmers with cattle to sell . Should they hold tough until marts reopen properly? Many are doing just that.
The only thing clear from the current situation is that the traditional mart system is by far the best method for everyone. And the sooner we get back to it, the better.
There are ongoing talks between the ICOS Co-operative Marts and the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine on protocols for livestock mart auctions to resume.
Until that happens, all must highly commend, praise and thoroughly back marts who have used tendering or other processes to keep their doors open, and trade continuing.
Marts like Kilkenny, where manager George Candler said, “Our tender sales for calves and cattle are not the ideal solution, but the system is providing some service to farmers selling and buying livestock here in Kilkenny, and in the surrounding counties.
“On Thursday last, we had a similar sized sale to the previous week, with the trade somewhat sharper and with more customers. Poor factory returns are not instilling confidence in the store buyers’ market.
“We are still examining ways to match more buyers and sellers.”
On Thursday Kilkenny mart had 300 cattle on offer. Bullocks sold from €1.50/kg to €2.40/kg. Heifers made from €1.60/kg to €2.35/kg. Friesian dry cows sold from €0.90/kg to €1.20/kg. Continental cull cows made from €1.10 to €1.45 per kilo.
George reported as follows from Kilkenny mart’s more recent calf sale, on Tuesday: “We had a smaller sale of calves which resulted in a 100% clearance, with sellers happy.
“A good deal of stronger calves on offer attracted the attention of farmer buyers, with exporters also helping the trade.
“Overall numbers appear to be on a decline. We had 220 calves on offer Tuesday, with first rate Friesian bulls making from €60 to €140 per head, and second tier Friesian bulls making from €37 to €70 per head.”
