Camera at the Mart: factories out in force at Roscrea bullock fatstock

After two hugely successful shows and sales the week previous, Central Auctions Roscrea returned last Friday 12 January for its highly anticipated annual January fatstock show and sale of bullocks.

The sale was dominated by heavy bullocks, with 215 of the 434 bullocks on show weighing in the 600kg-plus bracket, while a further 136 bullocks fell into the 500kg to 600kg weight bracket.

Roscrea was the place to be for both buyers and sellers, with multiple factories out in force to scoop up any bullocks that were fit for slaughter.

Feedlot buyers were also anxious to secure supplies, with €3.00/kg being the general run of the trade for good-quality continental lots, with the higher end of stock pushing it slightly further and closer to the €3.50/kg mark.

Topping the fiery trade on the day was the champion of the pre-sale show, a Belgian Blue-cross bullock born in March 2021 and weighing 1,130kg that sold for €4,200 (€3.72/kg).

These show prices didn’t stop there, as another Belgian Blue-cross that was tapped out as the reserve champion at the pre-sale show weighed in at 1,095kg and sold for €4,100 (€3.74/kg).

Notable prices

Other notable prices included a Limousin-cross bullock born in March 2022 and weighing 822kg that sold for €2,880 (€3.50/kg), a 30-month-old Charolais-cross bullock weighing 850kg that sold for €2,760 (€3.25/kg), another Belgian Blue bullock off a Friesian cow weighing 760kg at 22 months that sold for €2,720 (€3.58/kg) and a Charolais bullock at the same age weighing 740kg that sold for €2,720 (€3.68/kg).

In the 500kg to 600kg weight range, Belgian Blues led the way, selling from €2.70/kg up to €3.40/kg for the better-conformed lots.

Charolais-crosses typically sold from €2.90/kg to €3.30/kg, while the traditional suckler-bred bullocks sold from €2.50/kg to €3.00/kg.

Heavy bullocks weighing over the 600kg mark saw those traditional-bred bullocks sell from €2.40/kg to €3.08/kg.

Good-quality Charolais and Limousins were ahead of this mark, ranging from €2.75/kg up to €3.50/kg, while the Belgian Blue lots came out on top once again, ranging in price from €3.30/kg to €3.75/kg.

Mart manager Michael Harty told the Irish Farmers Journal: “It was another great day’s trading here in Roscrea today, with heavy bullocks being an exceptional trade.

“As always we’d like to thank all our buyers and sellers for their continued support.”