Last Saturday’s sale at Milford Mart saw a good entry of 430 weanlings on offer. Mart manager John Stewart said that sale numbers are holding well and are a little higher than the same time last year due to better autumn weather conditions.

Michael Logue, Milford Mart, said that the trade is holding quite firm, with very strong demand for better-quality bulls and heifers, but some plainer types continue to be a little slower to sell than their top-quality counterparts.

Heavy bulls were a firm trade on previous weeks, although the numbers on offer are smaller than a month ago.

The best-quality feeding bulls over 450kg sold from €1,000 to over €1,300/head, with quality the main factor affecting prices. Age also had an impact on prices, with the best demand for those that were suitable for finishing under 16 months of age on the grid.

Plainer-quality heavy bulls were not as strong a trade, with some selling from €900 to €1,000/head. The better-quality weanling bulls from 300kg to 400kg were a very strong trade, like recent weeks.

At the top of the market, there were plenty of fancy and well-conformed bulls that sold from €900 to over €1,000/head. Average-quality weanlings from 300kg to 400kg were a steady trade, selling mainly from €2.25/kg to €2.35/kg for average-quality R grades.

Plain-quality bulls, and in particular light plain bulls, were met with mixed demand and were slower to sell than better types as a result. Plain bulls from 300kg to 350kg sold mainly from €1.80/kg to €2.00/kg at times. Light bulls under 300kg were a relatively good trade where the quality on offer was good; these sold mainly from €650 to €750/head, but numbers of these were low compared with heavier types.

The heifer trade was quite similar to the trade for bulls, with strong farmer and agent demand evident for all good-quality heifers over 300kg.

Some of the better heifers under 400kg sold to over €1,000, with many over €900 also. Michael said that the difference between the top weanlings and plainer types was large, but some of the better-quality light heifers achieved very high prices on occasion. A 227kg heifer made €975, while a 251kg heifer sold for €1,040.

Commission rates are €8 to the buyer and €10 to €15 to the seller.