‘Runners’ are back in the mix as cattle dealers thrive online

There was a real buoyant feel to last week’s trade, with mart managers up and down the country telling me that they saw far more customers looking to buy stock than had been expected.

This extra interest was put down to the “good splash of rain” that has prompted a surge in grass growth. And there’s nothing so pressing in a cattle farmer’s mind than the need to have something to eat that grass.

Also helping confidence is the continued strong demand from Northern buyers for heavy beef and cull cows.

Up until last week, these buyers were staying away from competing with Southern factory agents for in-spec stock.

That ‘understanding’ appears to have passed, with the Northern men now pushing their Southern factory cousins right across the board for both in-spec and out-of-spec stock.

Smoothing the way for those taking on the Southern factory agents has been the anonymity that online buying has brought to the trade.

Now with a click of a button, your local factory man finds that he’s been taken out, and he has no idea by whom.

“Living history” was how one mart manager described the revival of a job that had died out when the fairs were replaced by marts.

On fair days cattle dealers would employ the services of local young lads ‘runners’ to traverse through the fair making notes on what was on offer, so their paymasters could utilise their time better, rather than spending hours rambling about among hundreds of cattle.

Today you can observe proceedings at as many cattle marts as you like simultaneously through modern technology.

However, knowing what cattle may interest you at marts A, B, C or D and when they are due to enter the ring is a big help.

Hence cattle dealers have once again begun employing the services of local ‘runners’ at marts; their job is much the same as it was generations ago: observe, note and communicate (via mobile phone these days) what they reckon their bosses might be interested in.

Armed with this information, the dealer can concentrate on other business until the time allotted for that sale of interest is due.

Larger feedlot buyers are also reported to have started to use the services of locals in picking out in advance stock at mart sales.

Price trends

So where did all of the above leave actual prices last week? Demand, whether for grass or factory use, saw the overall average price of your 600kg+ bullock rise 5c/kg to €1.82/kg with the poorer-quality animal putting on 14c/kg or €84/hd before settling on €1.47/kg.

The 400-500kg bullock held steady at €1.82/kg. In the 400-499kg section, that fresh grass brought on by the rain saw demand increase pushing up their overall average by 7c/kg to €1.96/kg.

On the heifer side, overall averages rose by between 2-6c/kg between 350 and 599kg. That increase lessened further up the weights. In the 600kg section, the overall average price slipped 3c/kg to €1.99kg.

Reports of a stronger trade is mirrored on the weanling heifer table with all weights and grades below 399kg averaging 3-12c/kg stronger. From 400-550kgs, however, average prices declined by 9c/kg to €2.13/ kg with the better-quality heifer the hardest hit as she lost 8c/kg to finish the week on €2.34/kg.