There was a smaller yard of weanlings in Athenry on Thursday. Over 100 weanling bulls and just under 50 weanling heifers went under the hammer.

Across the board trade was difficult. Lighter weanlings – bulls and heifers – were back 10c/kg for the week but heavier lots held steady.

Weanling bulls

Lighter 200kg to 300kg bulls averaged €2.22/kg for the sale. Nice-quality lots made in or around €2.50/kg consistently. Poorer-quality or plainer calves were back at €1.90/kg.

Some stand-out prices in this weight category were:

  • A Charolais bull, born May 2019 and weighing 260kg, sold for €700 (€2.69/kg).
  • A Limousin bull, born April 2019 and weighing 290kg, sold for €780 (€2.69/kg).
  • A Blonde d’Aquitaine bull, born May 2019 and weighing 250kg, sold for €640 (€2.56/kg).

    • Weanling bulls from 300kg to 400kg sold for an average price of €2.12/kg. Plainer lots settled for under €1.90/kg, however, nice-quality calves were a firm trade with €2.40/kg and higher required to secure purchases.

    Some stand-out prices in this weight category were:

  • A pair of Charolais-cross bulls, born March and April 2019 and averaging 317kg, sold for €840/head (€2.65/kg).
  • A pair of Charolais-cross bulls, born April and May 2019 and averaging 310kg, sold for €800/head (€2.58/kg).
  • A Limousin-cross bull, born March 2019 and weighing 345kg, sold for €830 (€2.41/kg).

    • Weanling heifers

    Two-hundred kilo to 300kg weanling heifers averaged €2.07/kg for the sale. Quality heifers made 30c/kg to 50c/kg higher than this average, while plainer lots were back at €1.75/kg.

    From 300kg to 400kg, the average was €2.10/kg. Up to €2.30/kg and over it was the going rate for nice-quality continental heifers. Just shy of €1.95/kg was the average for the bottom third on quality.

    Stand-out prices for weanling heifers on the day included:

  • A Charolais-cross heifer, born April 2019 and weighing 265kg, sold for €660 (€2.49/kg).
  • A Limousin-cross heifer, born April 2019 and weighing 300kg, sold for €720 (€2.40/kg).
  • A Charolais-cross heifer, bron May 2019 and weighing 250kg, sold for €605 (€2.42/kg).
  • A Limousin-cross heifer, born March 2019 and weighing 335kg, sold for €755 (€2.25/kg).

    • Analysis for this report was generated from the MartBids app. MartBids is a collaboration between the Irish Farmers Journal and livestock marts. The app is available for download on iPhone or Android on the App Store or Google Play. With this app, all of the information that is displayed on the mart board is now available on your smartphone, long before the animal enters the sales ring.