Camera at the Mart: big money for bull weanlings in Ballyjamesduff

Ballyjamesduff Mart held its annual show and sale of weanling bulls last Wednesday evening, with over 300 on offer.

Some of the top calves hit €8/kg on the night, with big farmer demand for lighter calves.

One May 2025-born Charolais bull weanling weighing 260kg sold for €2,000 with a lot of the lighter calves crossing the €7/kg barrier.

Exporters were seeking red Limousin bulls, with farmer buyers opting for Charolais bull weanlings. There appeared to be more customers for the lighter calves on the night with the most appetite for weanlings in the 200kg to 300kg weight bracket.

Speaking to the Irish Farmers Journal, mart manager John Tevlin said: “We took the decision the week before to postpone our show and sale of the bull weanlings on the back of the exporters not being here the previous week. We were happy done that.

“In fairness to our farmers, they spend all year getting their weanlings to sale day and we want to have as many customers around the ring as possible when they do.

“We had weanlings hit €8/kg here tonight. It’s great to see those suckler stock getting rewarded, with farmers and exporters very active all night. We had an almost 100% clearance on the night.”