Elphin mart had over 350 heifers through the ring last Wednesday for it’s special spring sale of beef heifers. The sale followed on from a flier the previous Wednesday where breeding heifers met a serious trade.

Speaking to the Irish Farmers Journal, Elphin mart manager Ciaran Lynch said “I never seen anything like the trade. Buyers just want cattle. It doesn’t really matter what they are, they just want kilos of beef. We had a few northern customers around the ring and working online and they drove the trade. We had a couple of very fit farmer buyers as well. Confidence is very high in the cattle trade especially for short keep cattle."

The top 33% of heifers came in at €4.35/kg while the average heifers came in at €3.96/kg. The bottom third of heifers in the sale came in at €3.52/kg. A number of heifers crossed the €5/kg mark with a few breeding heifers through the sale also meeting big farmer demand.

Elphin will hold their annual spring bullock sale this Wednesday with almost 400 bullocks booked into the sale. Big NI demand is expected again with NI finishers hungry for store cattle.

This October 2022 born Charolais heifer weighed 825kg and sold for €3600 (€4.24/kg)

This March 2023 born Charolais heifer weighed 775kg and sold for €3390 (€4.37/kg)

This pair of March 2023 born Charolais heifers weighed 755kg and sold for €3370 (€4.46/kg)

This pair of February 2023 born Charolais heifers weighed 757kg and sold for €3370 (€4.45/kg).

This November 2022 born heifer weighed 750kg and sold for €3180 (€4.24/kg).

This July 2022 born heifer weighed 720kg and sold for €3160 (€4.39/kg).