Mart reports from Macroom, Ennis, Kanturk, Kilmallock, Dowra, Balla and Castlerea

ALl creatures great and small making good prices

An October '24 born Limousin cross heifer, weighing 545kg, sold for €2,400 in Gortatlea Mart. Picture: O'Gorman Photography.

Weanlings were flying in Macroom on Saturday.

And I don’t mean they were being blown around by the stream of storms that we have had to endure.

No, they were flying price-wise.

The Mart had over 200 weanlings on offer on Saturday, with the majority selling from between €4/kg to €5/kg.

The sale saw good farmer interest in quality weanlings around the 350kg mark.

Three February '25 born Limousin cross bullocks, averaging 485kg, sold for €1,730 each in Gortatlea Mart. Picture: O'Gorman Photography.

And at the other end of the spectrum, big cattle were in good demand also.

I spotted one fine Angus bullock weighing 770kg making €2,700, while heavy factory-fit dry cows passed the €3k per head mark.

A good example of this on Saturday was one super Hereford cow weighing 955kg that sold for a very pleasing €3,220 (€3.37/kg).

Macroom
Saturday
No	Breed	Sex	Weight	€
2	AA	steers	500kg	1820
2	Ch	steers	457kg	1750
3	Fr	steers	440kg	1410
3	Lm	heifers	473kg	1960
5	AA	heifers	449kg	1650
1	Ch	cow	615kg	2020
1	BB	cow	685kg	2410

Ennis mart had a big sale again on Tuesday with a number just short of 1,050 head on offer.

Shipping activity was quieter this week, but with more farmer buyers about weanling bulls around 300kg still held a solid trade.

Weanling bulls over 300kgs were back 10c/kg.

It was a similar story in the weanling heifer ring, with heifers up to 300kg a solid trade, and those between 300-400kg back by 10c/kg.

Ennis Mart had a large entry of suckling stock on Tuesday and these made up to €3,700 per lot.

Three April '24 born Friesian bullocks, averaging 538kg, sold for €1,610 each in Gortatlea Mart. Picture: O'Gorman Photography.

Runner heifers made up to €1,210 a head, while runner bulls sold for up to €1,780 a head.

Ennis
Tuesday
No	Breed	Sex	Weight	€
1	Ch	bull	275kg	1990
2	Ch	bulls	287kg	1760
3	Lm	bulls	278kg	1680
1	AA	bull	400kg	1560
1	Lm	heifer	365kg	1530
1	Lm	heifer	400kg	2720
3	Ch	heifers	312kg	1410

Finbarr Taylor of Kanturk mart reported, “A big yard of cattle with a full clearance achieved,” after the sale of cattle on Tuesday.

And this has been the case with the last few weeks: a big yard and a big clearance.

There was also a great demand on Tuesday for dry cows at the north Cork mart.

Kanturk
Tuesday
No	Breed	Sex	Weight	€
8	AA	steers	483kg	1620
6	Hr	steers	404kg	1540
7	AA	steers	487kg	1700
8	Hr	heifers	415kg	1540
4	AA	heifers	480kg	1630
1	AA	cow	720kg	2080
1	Fr	cow	635kg	1880

1,500 cattle were sold at Kilmallock Mart this week.

Exceptional prices were given for all types of cattle.

Bullocks on the bank holiday Monday, made up to €2,240 a head or €4.21 per kg.

Dry cows made up to €2,830 a head or €3.47 per kg.

A March '17 born Charolais cross cow, weighing 750kg, sold for €3,040 in Gortatlea Mart. Picture: O'Gorman Photography.

Heifers sold for up to €2,350 a head or €4.50 per kg.

Runners made up to €995 a head. Young calves made up to €580 a head.

On Tuesday, weanling bulls made €1,870 a head or €4.92 per kg.

Weanling heifers sold for up to €1,480 a head or €4.95 per kg.

Kilmallock
Monday
No	Breed	Sex	Weight	€
2	Hr	steers	393kg	1480
4	Hr	steers	395kg	1460
5	AA	steers	698kg	2370
1	BB	heifer	490kg	1980
3	Hr	heifers	347kg	1160
1	Fr	cow	445kg	1280
1	Lm	cow	585kg	1860

Dowra Mart had a smaller sale on Saturday, with 560 cattle sold and the trade quieter, especially for plainer cattle.

Topping the sale was a Belgian Blue dry cow weighing 955kg that sold for €3,780.

An April '19 born Hereford cow, weighing 645kg, sold for €2,150 in Gortatlea Mart. Picture: O'Gorman Photography.

A Limousin heifer weighing 705kg made €3,520, while a 645kg Limousin heifer sold for €3,520.

Dowra
Saturday
No	Breed	Sex	Weight	€
1	Ch	steer	535kg	2780
1	Lm	steer	520kg	2580
1	BB	steer	475kg	2200
1	Ch	heifer	320kg	1400
1	Lm	heifer	495kg	2200
1	Lm	cow	670kg	2560
1	Ch	cow	615kg	2110

Balla Mart in Mayo had a sale on Saturday with just over 800 head on offer.

Cattle were showing signs of the weather, but there was a good clearance.

Some strong continental bullocks were making over the €3,000 a head, pushed there by a demand from feedlot and northern factory buyers.

The mart had a lot of heavy heifers on offer, with some again making over the €3,000, pushed once more by northern buyers.

A September '24 born Limousin cross heifer, weighing 560kg, sold for €2,420 in Gortatlea Mart. Picture: O'Gorman Photography.

The Mayo mart had 192 dry cows on offer on Saturday, with the trade much the same as the previous week.

Balla
Saturday
No	Breed	Sex	Weight	€
1	Lm	steer	290kg	1260
1	Ch	steer	440kg	2440
1	Ch	steer	830kg	3260
1	Lm	heifer	270kg	1280
1	BB	heifer	485kg	4100
1	Lm	heifer	610kg	2880
1	Lm	heifer	810kg	3180

Ennis mart on Thursday had a big sale of cull cows and heifers, with more dairy culls available than in previous weeks.

The mart had mostly store heifers on offer, with beef cattle in short supply.

The heifer trade was back 7c/kg to 10c/kg, especially for light heifers under 500kg.

The cull cow trade held up especially well for the more forward types.

The mart had a large entry of bulls on Thursday and these met a good demand with an overall average of €3.30/kg.

A Charolais bull weighing 1,000kg made €3,460 and another Charolais bull weighing 915kgs made €3,140.

Ennis
Thursday
No	Breed	Sex	Weight	€
1	Lm	heifer	800kg	3330
3	Lm	heifers	588kg	2420
1	AA	heifer	390kg	1500
1	Ch	heifer	710kg	2860
1	Sh	cow	1030kg	3410
1	Lm	cow	755kg	2970
1	Fr	cow	540kg	1420

Castlerea Mart had large numbers of stock presented for sale again this week, with prices holding and with better quality stock on offer.

The trade for quality stores showed a slight improvement.

There were more buyers for store heifers, while forward lots made up to €3,080 a head.

There was a good trade for weanlings, driven on by exporters and farmers.

Bull weanlings sold for up to €7.51 a kilo, while heifer weanlings reached €6.50 a kilo.

Castlerea Mart had increased numbers of breeding stock on offer.

Cows with calves at foot sold for up to €3,150 per lot. While springers hit €4,000 a head.

Dry cows made up to €2,930 a head, with more store cows coming on stream.

The mart had larger numbers of runners presented for sale, with continental lots making up to €1,850 a head.

Castlerea
Thursday
No	Breed	Sex	Weight	€
1	Ch	heifer	365kg	2060
1	Ch	heifer	485kg	2200
1	Lm	heifer	470kg	2520
1	Lm	heifer	550kg	2760
1	Sim	cow	625kg	1980
1	Lm	cow	620kg	2390
1	AA	cow	900kg	2930