Last week’s dairy sale at Nenagh Mart saw a large entry of over 155 calved heifers for the annual dairy show and sale. Mart manager Matt Malone said that the show saw one of the finest showings of dairy heifers he had ever seen at the mart.

The majority of the stock on offer were pedigree registered, with a good proportion of VG and EX heifers included. The sale was very brisk, according to Matt. It was well up on last year, with buyers present from all over the country and from Northern Ireland.

The main demand saw prices range mainly from €1,500 to €1,600. Matt said that at the bottom of the market, heifers sold for €1,000, but these were few and far between.

The top price was €3,000, with €2,250 and €2,450 paid for the champion and reserve champion respectively.

In terms of demand, buyers were active for all good-quality heifers, with many of the better-quality types making from €1,600 to €1,800. There were Northern buyers active also, but mostly for the top-quality heifers.

In all, about 20 heifers went north from the sale, with the buyers from bordering counties and Cork, Clare and Galway snapping up the remainder. In total, there were 142 sold of the 155 on offer. Commission rates are €20 to the buyer and seller.