Camera at the Mart: low numbers meet a 98% clearance in Nenagh

Central Auctions Nenagh held its weekly cattle sale on Tuesday 8 August, with a lower entry of cattle in the Co Tipperary mart for sale than expected for this time of the year.

Despite the recent continuous downward spiral in prices, the mood around the sales ring was positive and, in general, the trade held firm for that smaller offering of cattle.

A small entry of cull cows saw a good mixture of Friesian, Hereford and Aberdeen Angus types up for grabs, with a top call of €1,450 being paid for a Friesian-cross cull cow weighing 730kg.

Similarly, an Aberdeen Angus-cross cow also weighing 730kg sold for €1,250, while a Belgian Blue-cross cow weighing 555kg secured €1,100.

Sticking with the females, there was a decent entry of traditional Hereford and Angus type heifers ranging in quality.

Heifers weighing in the range of 400kg to 500kg typically sold from €2.09/kg to €2.17/kg, with choice lots seeing increases of 10c/kg on the week previous.

Heavy heifers

Heavier heifers weighing 500kg to 600kg were scarce, but the lots on offer generally averaged at €2.10/kg.

The top call in the heifer ring saw a Hereford-cross heifer weighing 560kg sell for €1,200 (€2.14/kg), while the top-priced Aberdeen Angus-cross heifer weighed in at 530kg and sold for €1,120 (€2.11/kg).

There were plenty of buyers active around the ring for bullocks, with plenty of choice on offer.

Traditional breeds dominated this section, but a small number of continental lots stepped in to secure some of the highest prices.

Limousin bullocks

Limousin bullocks weighing in the range of 400kg to 500kg sold well, securing prices from €2.44/kg up to highs of €2.84/kg, which came when one buyer paid €1,390 for a Limousin-cross bullock weighing 490kg.

Charolais bullocks peaked at €2.72/kg when a bullock weighing 480kg sold for €1,305.

Aberdeen Angus bullocks also attracted strong prices, selling from €2.20/kg to €2.52/kg, which came in slightly higher than their Hereford counterparts, which generally sold from €2.30/kg to €2.40/kg.

Friesian-crosses also met good demand, with a selection of these bullocks crossing the €2.00/kg mark.

Speaking to the Irish Farmers Journal after the sale, mart manager Michael Harty commented: “We had a small sale today, but there was a small bit of a bite back in the trade nonetheless.”