IN THE KNOW

1MOHILL

Stephen Hannon reported more farmers appearing ringside last week. “Numbers were back and so to was the quality possibly but we had plenty of men wanting to buy,” he said. The better 470-480kg Charolais sold from €2.50-2.55/hd, with Hereford and Angus stores destined for feedlots going for €1.90-2.00/hd. On the weanling side farmer interest drove the tops of the bulls to €3.00/ kg, but the plainer one at around €2.00-2.10/ kg remained a difficult sell. Stephen said reports that the suckler herd was doomed may be premature as good quality in calf Simmental, Charolais, and Limousin heifers here saw €2,000/hd as the benchmark.

2DINGLE

Neilius McAulliffe was also reporting more farmer buyers, with the trade generally good. Five February 2017-born 500kg Hereford bullocks sold for €890/hd, a 472kg Limousin made €880 and two 425kg Herefords made €785/hd. On the cull cow side the better Friesians from 550-600kg sold around the €1/kg mark.

3KANTURK

Prices remained steady here with numbers very respectable. Cull cows saw prices range from €1.80/kg for 700kg continental types back to €1/kg for heavy Friesians, with lighter types straight from the parlour dipping to .80c/kg, and less depending on quality. In the bullock ring: five 521kg Limousins made €2.21/kg, two 595kg Herefords sold for €1.78/kg and three 651kg Angus, possibly destined for the knife, made €1.74/kg. On the heifer side, two 575kg Angus made €1.69/kg and two 527kg Limousins sold for €1.94/kg.

4ENNIS

Trade for quality cattle was helped by a good turnout of buyers. Among the heavier bullocks were three 710kg Friesians who sold for €1.68/kg, with a 730kg Limousin making €2.10/kg. Looking at the forward stores, four 520kg Charolais made €2.63/ kg with five 564kg Limousins making €2.39/ kg. With the heifers, the gap between the continentals and the more traditional breeds remains wide, with Charolais and Limousins from 385-525kg selling from €2.31-2.56/kg while Angus and Herefords were €1.70-1.90.

5KILRUSH

This sale was marked by a strong turnout and trade for cull cows, with prices for the better types €1.20-1.50/kg. Turning to the bullocks you had 380kg Limousins making €2.46/kg; one lot of six 441kg Friesians sold for €1.51/kg, while three at 528kg clicked just €1.50/kg. The trade for bull weanlings saw good prices paid for the better animal with various groups of Charolais around the 320kg mark making €2.75-2.83/kg. Top of the pops was a 275kg Limousin bull that raised the flag at €3.02/kg.

6BALLA

Here too, numbers surprised for the day of the year. Prices for bullocks from 300-400kg averaged €2.09/kg with the top price going to a 350kg Charolais that made €2.57/kg. Stores from 400-500kg averaged €2.06/kg, with a 470kg Limousin topping the charts at €2.50/kg. Heavier bullocks averaged €2.02/kg. The heifer trade showed considerable bounce with animals up to 400kg averaging €2.14/kg to a top of €2.53/ kg. 400-500kg heifers averaged €2.17/kg to a top of €2.74/kg. Heavier heifers averaged €2.20/kg to a top of €2.36/kg

7CARNEW

A good sale saw the trade firmer here for all classes. Beef and forward store bullocks sold from €550-910/hd over the €1/kg, with lighter continental stores making €450780 over the weight. Friesian stores made 440-550 over their weight. Beef heifers made €480-830 over the €1/kg, with store heifers selling from €250-730 over the €1/ kg. On the cull cow front, beef cows made €320-730 over the weight, with store cows making €150 under the €1/kg to €360 over the €1/kg.