Autumn is traditionally a very busy time for the country’s marts. Increased numbers of weanlings and farmers who summer-graze cattle usually sell in September and October as the grass year comes to an end.
Elphin Mart is just finished a very busy two weeks of trading. Its special autumn bullock and heifer sales are renowned for the quality of the stock and the autumn 2020 sales didn't disappoint.
Wednesday 9 September saw heifers come to the fore. Over 700 heifers went through the ring and they were met with a flying trade.
Mart manager Gerry Connellan said: “We had a lot of enquires, so we knew we were going to have a good sale. Top-quality continental heifers were hitting over €900 with the weight, with some of the top heifers in the sale hitting over €3/kg.”
Purchasing breeding heifers, putting them in-calf and selling them on at special sales has become very popular in the west and there was a number of customers there willing to go that extra distance to secure the right heifer.
Top price
Top price of the sale went to a 2018-born Charolais-cross heifer weighing 705kg which sold for €2,360 (€3.34/kg). She was knocked down to a local specialist in-calf heifer producer.
Next highest price went to another Charolais heifer weighing 595kg which sold for €2,300 (€3.86/kg).
The bullock sale was held on Wednesday and was a very good trade for the top-quality bullock.
A number of northern customers were filling orders for cattle for the wholesale trade in Northern Ireland and with beef prices holding steady at 50c/kg to 60c/kg ahead of ROI prices, these customers were a big help around the ring.
The general run for bullocks in the 600kg to 700kg bracket was €2.20/kg to €2.40/kg, with €2.50/kg to €2.60/kg being paid for some lighter fancier lots.
Bullocks in the 400kg to 600kg bracket were generally making from €2.40/kg to €2.70/kg.
Monday night’s dry cow sale was small, with a lower entry than previous nights.
Nevertheless, good-quality cows were a very good trade, with the top cows hitting over €2/kg.
Plainer types lacking flesh were easier bought, making between €1.60/kg and €1.80/kg.
