Camera at the Mart: shippers step up a gear in Dungarvan

Compared with the highs experienced in February and early March, calf prices are easing across the country and it was no different in Dungarvan Mart on Thursday last.

It was mostly shippers at the ringside for this week’s sale, where 940 calves were on offer.

Angus- and Hereford-crosses made up two-thirds of all on offer, with about half of all calves sired by an Angus bull. The vast majority of these were sold in a range from €200 to €500.

Most Friesian and Friesian-crosses were selling from €170 to €260, while stronger calves, especially those over 70kg, were making up to €450.

Continental-crosses were making €350 to €500 for middle-range calves, while those closer to weaning were making up to €720.

Following the sale, manager Kevin Casey said: “It was predominantly exporters at the ringside. There were a number of buyers from up the country that weren’t at that sale, which impacted trade a lot.

“It’s been a very busy spring. Calf numbers are up throughout the season. Trade has been maintained at a good level and it has been a very positive on the calf side of things.

“We’ve hit the first blip now and it’s starting to drop back a bit. Of all the breeds, Friesians seem to be holding prices and they’ve been steady all spring.

“At the start of the year, we saw more people out buying calves than we normally would.

“There were a lot of people who ended up switching to calves last year when stores got dear and they were out earlier this year.

“Since the first sale of the year, the rings here have been full of buyers. They were people who either weren’t able to get enough or any cattle last year and they were weren’t going to get caught again.”