Kilkenny Mart held its weekly cattle sale on Thursday 23 November, with 820 lots on offer.
Numbers in Cilín Hill have been holding reasonably strong over the past number of weeks and while this week was also met with a large entry, the quality on offer was nothing short of excellent.
Those breeding quality stock have been well rewarded all year and that remains unchanged, with mart manager Michael Lynch telling the Irish Farmers Journal: “The trade is strong and we have a good share of heavy cattle here today.
"There are plenty of buyers around for finished cattle, so breeders certainly need not fear for showing them in the ring.”
Heifers
The heifer trade was very positive at Thursday’s sale, with a 21-month-old Belgian Blue-cross heifer weighing 535kg selling for the top female price of €1,800 (€3.36/kg).
In the 400kg to 500kg weight range, Charolais-cross heifers sold from €2.33/kg to €2.91/kg, Limousin-cross heifers sold from €2.51/kg to €2.89/kg and Aberdeen Angus-cross heifers in the same weight range typically sold from €2.29/kg to €2.60/kg.
Heavier heifers in the 500kg to 600kg weight range saw Charolais-crosses achieve prices from €2.42/kg to €2.71/kg, traditional-bred heifers range from €2.40/kg up to €2.65/kg and Belgian Blue-crosses just below the €3.00/kg mark.
Bullocks
Not to be outdone by their female counterparts, the bullocks also met a sharp trade, which was made all the sharper with help from a number of Northern Ireland buyers.
Quality suckler-bred lots demanded high prices from start to finish, with a top call of €2,480 being paid for a Limousin-cross bullock weighing 760kg (€3.26/kg).
Comrades to this bullock weighing 748kg sold for €2,400 and another pair weighing 705kg sold for €2,200.
In the 400kg to 500kg weight category, there was a massive 250 lots on offer.
Angus- and Hereford-crosses averaged around the €2.35/kg mark. Belgian Blue-crosses saw a strong average of €3.15/kg and the other continental breeds saw similar averages of between €2.70/kg and €3.00/kg.
Continental bullocks in the 500kg to 600kg category showed their strength at Thursday's sale, selling for average prices between €2.90/kg and €3.10/kg, with Simmental-crosses also selling well from €2.40/kg to €2.70/kg.
Limousins led to way in the over-600kg category, selling to an average price per kilo of €3.20, with Belgian Blue and Charolais-crosses falling slightly behind at €3.10/kg.
