Camera at the Mart: sharp trade for heifers in Roscommon

The trade for heifers edged out bulls at Roscommon Mart’s weanling bull and heifer sale on Tuesday evening.

The trade for top-quality lots was underpinned by a number of farmer buyers sourcing cattle for summer grazing systems.

The average price of heifers weighing from 300kg to 400kg exceeded €5/kg, with the top third of lots in this weight category selling in the main from €5.40/kg to €6/kg, while a handful of lots topped the €6/kg mark and sold to a high of €6.71/kg.

Mart manager Tony Conry reports that there was only a small number falling below 300kg, with prices following a similar average to heifers weighing from 300kg to 400kg.

Heavier lots weighing from 400kg to 500kg averaged around the €4.50/kg mark, with the top third selling from €4.60/kg to €4.95/kg and a couple of lots exceeding €5/kg.

Lesser-quality heifers exhibiting poorer conformation or over-fleshed sold back to €4/kg.

There was a wide differential in prices paid for bulls, depending on quality.

Bulls weighing from 300kg to 400kg and possibly suitable for castrating were favoured by farmer buyers, with a few top-quality bullocks securing a significant premium. Buyers purchasing for live export were also active.

The average price for bulls in this weight category was €5.49/kg, with the top third of bulls averaging €6.22/kg, with a dozen bulls over the €6/kg mark.

At the opposite end of the quality spectrum, the bottom third of bulls averaged €4.74/kg in a price range from €4/kg to €5.20/kg.

A smaller number of bulls less than 300kg averaged €5.44/kg, with the top third at €6.09/kg and the bottom third selling for €4.83/kg.

Specialist beef finishers were the main customers for bulls weighing from 400kg to 500kg.

Bulls weighing 400kg to 450kg averaged €5.23/kg, while heavier lots weighing 450kg to 500kg sold from €4.20/kg for plainer-quality lots to €4.70/kg to €4.90/kg for the best-quality types.

Meanwhile Tony reports that last Friday’s heifer sale also saw a keener demand for slaughter-fit and forward heifers.

Heifers weighing 500kg to 600kg sold for an average of €4.24/kg, with the top third selling for €4.69/kg.

Heavier types weighing upwards of 600kg averaged €4.13/kg, with a range from €3.87/kg for the bottom third to €4.40/kg for the top third.

Store heifers weighing 400kg to 500kg sold on average for €4.31/kg, with the top third selling for €4.93/kg on average, while the bottom third sold for €4.31/kg.