Marts Reports: Store bullock trade weakens, but no bargains yet

Latest prices from Macroom, Kanturk, Kilmallock, Dungarvan, Bandon and Skibbereen

Wed, 26 May, 2021 - 14:53

Denis Lehane

Isn’t it time for the weather to improve?

While I usually begin a mart report with a mention of a farmer or mart manager at the coalface of the Irish mart scene, today I want to set my sights on a higher power.

I need to talk to God himself.

God, if you are reading this, I need to humbly ask you is there is any reason why you feel we need all the water? To say it’s putting a damper on our summer plans is an understatement.

While Leo and Micheál might be concerned about outdoor dining, with regards to outdoor farming, it’s becoming a bit of a washout.

The ground, which by the way was grand and dry over the winter, has more than enough water now, thank you very much. What we need at this stage is the sun.

Grass is getting trampled underfoot, silage in need of cutting is getting long in the tooth, and grass seed in need of planting remains in the bag. So please God, if you can, I know you’re busy, but turn up the temperature gauge for us here in Ireland and let’s see a few of those lazy, hazy days that were so common when we were all a lot younger.

And so to the marts we go, where selling conditions in the ring are impacted by the wet conditions on the farms.

While the store bullock isn’t as popular as he was a month ago, he’s still a long way from being cheap. Bargains in the ring are hard to come by. And with summer on the way any time soon, stores right now (take it from me) are as cheap as they are going to get.

Macroom Mart last Saturday reported calf prices holding up, but cattle prices a bit “tougher”.

Dry cows in Macroom made from €120 to €700 with the kilo. Friesian bullocks in Macroom made from €1.50/kg to €1.90/kg.

Aberdeen Angus and Hereford bullocks in Macroom sold from €1.95/kg to €2.45/kg. Continental bullocks sold from €2.10/kg to €2.75/kg. Heifers made from €2.10/kg to €2.60/kg.

Macroom
Saturday
No	Breed	Sex	Weight	€
3	Fr	steers	580kg	1110
1	AA	steer	445kg	910
7	Hr	steers	377kg	800
3	AA	steers	273kg	670
1	Ch	steer	500kg	1110
1	Sim	cow	750kg	1450
1	Hr	cow	675kg	1160

Dry cows in Bandon on Monday sold from €160 to €1070 with the kilo.

Friesian bullocks sold from €170 to €475 with the kilo. Hereford and Aberdeen Angus bullocks sold from €335 to €645 with the kilo.

Continental bullocks sold from €460 to €608 with their weight. Heifers made from €378 to €760 with the kilo.

Bandon
Monday
No	Breed	Sex	Weight	€
5	Fr	steers	379kg	650
1	AA	steer	470kg	840
3	Hr	steers	595kg	1240
5	AA	steers	389kg	780
2	Ch	steers	492kg	1100
1	Lm	cow	840kg	1410
1	Ch	cow	830kg	1900

Kanturk's cattle sale forged ahead on Tuesday, mart manager Seamus O'Keeffe gave us the following report.

"It was a bad morning weather wise in Kanturk, but that didn’t deter our customers.

"We had 780 animals, including 290 calves, up for auction at Tuesday's mart sale.

"Cattle are very much in demand with plenty of customers both ringside and online.

"Cattle prices are still holding up great."

Kanturk
Tuesday
No	Breed	Sex	Weight	€
1	Lm	steer	675kg	1500
1	AA	steer	655kg	1395
1	Hr	steer	422kg	1080
1	Lm	heifer	482kg	1190
1	Fr	heifer	495kg	1060
1	Lm	cow	740kg	1440
1	AA	cow	815kg	1380

Ger Flynn, Dungarvan mart manager, reported "We had an increase in cattle numbers on Monday with a steady trade.

"Cow prices are holding well with an excellent bullock sale despite the bad weather."

Dungarvan
Monday
No	Breed	Sex	Weight	€
7	AA	steers	605kg	1390
8	Ch	steers	476kg	1150
2	Fr	steers	552kg	1010
6	Hr	steers	323kg	800
2	Sim	heifers	402kg	880
1	BB	cow	710kg	1340
1	Fr	cow	785kg	1190

The headline from Kilmallock mart after Monday's sale was that of bullocks hitting €2000 a head. The bullocks in question were 3 Charolais steers weighing 918kg and selling for the magic number of €2000 a head.

This week 1100 cattle sold at Kilmallock mart, with the mart reporting "a feature of recent sales is the amount of factory fit cattle that are now being sold at the mart. The majority of these cattle are making more at the mart."

Bullocks on Monday sold for up to €2.43 per kg. Dry cows made up to €1310 a head or €1.79 per kg. Heifers sold for up to €1190 a head or €2.45 per kg. Up to €460 was paid in the calf ring (paid for a February born Simmental bull).

A couple of factory bulls sold in Kilmallock during the week were, an Aberdeen Angus bull weighing 915kg and selling for €1340 and a Hereford bull 615kg sold for €1260.

Kilmallock
Monday
No	Breed	Sex	Weight	€
2	Lm	steers	395kg	920
4	Hr	steers	399kg	760
2	AA	steers	345kg	720
3	Fr	steers	378kg	620
2	AA	steers	530kg	1210
4	Lm	steers	535kg	1170
1	Sim	steer	525kg	1160

In Skibbereen on Friday dry cows sold from €40 under to €650 with the kilo.

Heifers in Skibbereen sold from €245 to €960. Hereford and Aberdeen Angus bullocks sold from €270 to €627 with the kilo.

Continental bullocks sold from €320 to €825 with their weight.

Skibbereen
Friday
No	Breed	Sex	Weight	€
4	Hr	steers	375kg	820
2	AA	steers	350kg	740
1	Lm	steer	685kg	1510
2	Ch	steers	547kg	1280
1	Ch	heifer	870kg	1830
1	Sim	cow	800kg	1450
1	AA	cow	800kg	1430