Marts are gearing up for a very busy autumn, with weanling demand very solid heading into a busy period for weanling sales. Exporters are driving the trade and are a huge part of the mart scene at the moment.

Speaking to mart managers, they are seeing over 70% of cattle in sales at the moment being purchased by exporters, something unheard of in previous years.

Suckler farmers deserve to get rewarded for the hard work that they put in, by putting U grading calves on the ground. With costs increasing in the last four years on suckler farms, every cent/kg increase in weanling price is needed to sustain the suckler cow. In any commodity trade, it’s all about supply and demand. It’s almost a perfect storm for weanlings at the moment.

Bluetongue restrictions across Europe mean Ireland has become a destination of choice for a lot of customers and exporters are busy filling these contracts.

A huge drop of over 80,000 head in suckler cow numbers has meant that the top-quality weanling isn’t in as abundant supply as it once was.

This means farmers and cattle buyers aiming for the top-end weanling have had to get more to secure their purchases.

Marts are an integral part of rural Ireland and should be supported in any way we can.

It’s the fairest, most transparent way of getting the correct price for your cattle with a guaranteed secure payment. We would be foolish to think though that some rationalisation won’t take place in the years ahead.

Marts have big overhead costs and opening up a mart to sell 50 or 60 cattle a week doesn’t make sense when there are other marts close by.

Dwindling suckler numbers in the west will put particular pressure on marts.

Online buying has proved to be a new lease of life for marts along with factory agents now sourcing a lot more finished cattle through marts. Marts are changed places, not as much the social gathering place they once were, but still an integral part of Irish farming