Last Saturday saw a special clearance sale take place at Cahir Mart for a farmer who was exiting farming. In total, there were about 120 head on offer.

According to mart manager Jonathan O’Sullivan, demand for dairy stock is very strong at the moment, especially for well-bred and high-EBI cows. He added that the herd that was on offer on Saturday last was exceptional.

This Friesian cow, born February 2017 and calving late February, with and EBI of €158 sold for €1,850.

All the stock on offer were pedigree registered. The herd produced 6,100kg of milk last year at 3.75% protein and 4.25% fat, or 488kg or milk solids per cow.

Prices topped out at €2,200 for a February-calving in-calf heifer. Jonathan said a good number of young cows and heifers sold from €1,800 to €2,000/head.

This Friesian cow with and EBI of €75 and calving mid February sold for €1,540.

Demand on the day was very strong and that lead to exceptional prices. The average price for in-calf heifers and cows was €1,650/head. There were some empty cows on offer also which were in-milk and these sold mainly from €800 to €900/head.

This Friesian heifer, born January 2018 and with and EBI of €158, sold for €1,420.

The yearling heifers were an exceptional trade, ranging from €680 to €810/head and averaging €770/head.

General cattle sale

Wednesday’s general cattle sale saw an entry of 160 on offer for the last sale of 2019. Jonathan said the cull cow trade was strong and steady, with parlour cows selling mainly from €0.80/kg to €0.90/kg and store cows selling mainly from €1.00/kg to €1.10/kg.

This Friesian heifer, born January 2018 and calving mid-February with and EBI of €201 sold for €1,920.

He added that demand for these is strong with more farmer interest visible at the mart this year.

In terms of the cattle sale, most of those on offer were Angus and Herefords and these were steady on previous weeks, but prices are now well above where they were six weeks ago.

This empty Friesian cow, born February 2018 and with and EBI of €170, sold for €730.

Store bullocks over 500kg sold mainly from €1.80/kg to €2.00/kg at times, with farmers and feedlot buyers the main source of demand. Heifers were a similar trade on a price per kilo basis. Angus and Hereford weanlings from 300kg to 350kg are selling from €1.80/kg to €2.00/kg also.

This empty Friesian cow, born February 2014 with and EBI of €184 sold for €800.

Numbers sold at the mart are up slightly on last year. “September and October were back on last year, but we had a busy November and December which helped increase numbers,’’ said Jonathan.

Commission rates for dairy sales are 1.5% to the seller and 2.5% to the buyer.

This Friesian cow, born February 2017 and calving late February with and EBI of €229 sold for €2,100.

This Friesian cow, born February 2014 and calving late February with and EBI of €121 sold for €1,800.

This Friesian cow, born February 2016 and calving mid February with and EBI of €146 sold for €1,760.

This Friesian heifer, born February 2018 and calving mid-February with and EBI of €210 sold for €1,820.

This Friesian cow, born February 2014 and calving early March, with an EBI of €180 sold for €1,920.