Monday’s sale at Castlerea Mart saw a good entry of six pens of bullocks on offer. Mart manager Brendan Egan said that the trade was very strong, with plenty of farmers and feeders buying.

The bullock sale saw about 250 on offer. Heavy bullocks over 600kg sold mainly from €650 to €925 over, with prices averaging just under €800 along with the weight.

Forward store bullocks from 500kg to 600kg sold mainly from €700 to €800 over the weight. Demand was very strong and there was almost a 100% clearance of the forward types on offer.

Lighter stores from 400kg to 500kg sold mainly from €550 to €650 along with the weight for average-quality types, with top-quality bullocks making over €860 along with the weight. Plainer-quality types were a little easier than the previous week.

The trade for light bullocks and bulls was very strong once again, with the majority of good-quality types selling mainly from €500 to €600 along with the weight.

Plainer types with a dairy background sold mainly from €550 to €650/head. Brendan said that Turkish demand has started to underpin the trade in the past week.

There were a good entry of weanling heifers on offer on Thursday last and, like bullocks, the demand for these was brisk also.

Heifers from 350kg to 400kg sold mainly from €550 to €700 over, with the best quality making more than €850 over the weight.

Those from 300kg to 350kg sold mainly from €550 to €600 over the weight, with plainer types selling from €600 to €700/head.

Light heifers under 300kg sold mainly from €700 to €750 per head, with better-quality types making more than €700 over the weight.

Heavy heifers, like bullocks, were a very strong trade. The number over 600kg on offer was low, but prices of these ranged mainly from €575 over for an Angus with dairy background to €1,125 over for a super-quality Charolais-cross heifer.

The majority of forward store heifers from 500kg to 600kg sold mainly from €600 to €700 along with the weight, while some better-quality types sold freely from €800 to €900 over. Commission rates are 1.9% to the seller and €9 to the buyer.