Mart prices: sticky trade for stores in Birr

Over 300 cattle were sold in Birr at Monday’s general sale.

Bullocks

Table 1 shows the full summary of steer bullock prices on the day.

Light stores from 350kg to 400kg were back 27c/kg for the week and averaged €1.58/kg.

The drop was a result of fewer continental and dairy-beef cattle within the weight.

Friesian lots hovered between €1.20/kg and €1.30/kg.

A small selection of Hereford and continental lots made between €1.80/kg and €2.05/kg.

There were over 100 bullocks weighing from 400kg to 500kg sold on the day. The average price paid was €1.69/kg.

Pure Friesian lots ranged between €1.30/kg and €1.65/kg for the better-framed animal.

Hereford- and Angus-cross animals could be purchased for €1.75/kg up to €2/kg. Continentals topped out at just under €2.30/kg

From 500kg to 600kg, there were another 50 bullocks sold at an average of €1.79/kg.

Again, Friesian and Friesian-crosses put a floor under the market at €1.30/kg to €1.60/kg.

Traditional dairy-beef-crosses went from €1.60/kg to €1.85/kg.

A small selection of continentals maxed out at €2.10/kg.

Heavy bullocks weighing over 600kg sold for an average price of €1.66/kg.

Best quality could command 15c/kg above the average, while plainer lots were 10c/kg the wrong side of the average.

Analysis for this report was generated from the MartBids app. MartBids is a collaboration between the Irish Farmers Journal and livestock marts. The app is available for download on iPhone or Android on the App Store or Google Play. With this app, all of the information that is displayed on the mart board is now available on your smartphone, long before the animal enters the sales ring.