Clogher Mart was busy last Saturday morning with five rings in operation and over 1,100 cattle on offer.

The bullock and heifer rings were the highlight of the trade, with factory agents anxious to scoop up any animal close to slaughter, while larger finishers and factory feedlots drove the trade for the forward stores.

In the dry cow ring, fat cows were the highlight of the trade, with heavy cows ranging in price from €2.20/kg to €2.70/kg depending on weight quality and flesh cover. Friesian store cows lacking in flesh ranged from €1.30/kg to €1.60/kg depending on flesh cover.

Bullocks

In the bullock ring, €3/kg was common for forward store bullocks, with slaughter-fit bullocks close to 700kg hitting €2,100 to €2,300/head.

It was a similar story in the heifer ring, as €3/kg was again the base price for a lot of heavy heifers with more being paid for cattle close to slaughter.

The weanling trade was also on fire, with a June 2022-born Limousin heifer weighing 395kg selling for €1,693 (€4.28/kg). Good-quality bull weanlings in the 300kg to 400kg bracket were making from €3/kg to €3.50/kg.

Mart manager Robert Simpson said: “Numbers are holding really well with farmers choosing to offload a little earlier this year given the demand.”