For the first time this year, Friesian calves had the upper hand when it came to the number of calves available in Bandon mart.

The St Brigid’s bank holiday sale at the west Cork venue saw 385 calves presented for sale. This is a lift of 100 head on last week but notably it’s just over 200 calves less compared to the same sale in 2023.

There was talk of dairy farmers beginning breeding later last spring and perhaps this dip in numbers is a result.

Prices

Prices remained steady across the board and calves in excess of 50kg sold well regardless of breed.

Friesian bull calves for shipping were generally selling for between €40 and €80 depending on the calf weight with a share of export calves selling below this range. Stronger Friesian bull calves met a good demand from farmer buyers and €90 to €150 was the going rate for these with the top end of the trade hitting €190.

Appetite for early Angus and Hereford-cross calves saw between €300 to €420 paid for those over 75kg. Traditional beef breed-cross calves tended to make from €180 to €300 for those weighing over 55kg while anything from €40 to €150 tended to be the going rate for those under that weight range.

Calves from these crosses that sold for under €100/head tended to be closer to 40kg and were nearer two weeks old and or came from Jersey-cross dams.

Continental calves were thinner on the ground this week. Those over 65kg were selling for up to €535 while those under that weight range were a similar trade to the middle band of traditional beef breed cross calves.

Time change

Next week's calf sale in Bandon will commence at the earlier time of 10.30am.