Prices bounce back as feelgood factor kicks in

SOMETIMES it’s the most casual of statements that can throw a light on aspects of the cattle trade.

For example, Delvin auctioneer John Gilligan’s line about the condition of the stock going through his sales yard in the last month.

“Cattle aren’t showing any hardship,” he told me as we went through his mart prices last week. In essence John had summed up the effects of nearly a month’s good weather on stock at this time of year in five words.

While it is never easy to quantify this in actual monetary value - and allowing that the west of the country has not fared as well weather-wise - it is safe to say that in areas where October stayed largely dry, the effect of the dry weather is possibly worth up to 20-30kg/hd in liveweight. This may not necessarily all be in gain but in the fact that conditions never contrived to see stock lose weight.

What has this to do with last week’s ringside returns? More than you may think. Farmers also thrive in good weather and there isn’t a farmer in the country whose humour has not improved as the good weather continued from one week into the next.

With the good weather giving time to get sales done in good order, fields holding up well and getting grazed out properly plus stock looking good, a lot of farmers feel well up with or even a little ahead of their work.

And with indications that beef prices at the factories maybe about to get off the floor with mart managers reporting bullock prices up by €20-40/hd, plus ringside