Kenmare Mart held its first bull weanling show and sale with plenty of quality cattle and prices to match. Described by one farmer as “mad dear” it was hard to argue with the majority of U and E grading cattle selling in excess of €2.80/kg.
Indeed when looking through the prices of the day it was hard to differentiate between the prizewinners and cattle later in the sale. Most of the weanlings were Charolais or Limousin with a small selection of Belgian Blues. Most of those over 350kg made between €600 and €1,030 with their weight. Lighter weanlings were thin on the ground but were making between €350 and €580 over the euro per kilo.
Mart manager Dan McCarthy said “there appears to be a lift in prices with buyers paying that bit extra for the quality stock”.
He added: “Exporters were not that noticeable while there was strong demand from customers up the country buying bulls for further feeding.”
The overall champion on the day was a November 2016-born Belgian Blue owned by Joanne Lynch from Kilgarvan, which weighed 430kg and sold for €1,460 (€3.40/kg).
Above 370kg
Six Charolais, November 2016, 379kg: €1,030 (€2.72/kg).
Less than 370kg
Read more