Camera at the Mart: strong start to Dungarvan calf trade

Dungarvan Mart had its first standalone calf sale of 2026 on Thursday last and trade was on fire.

Demand exceeded supply, with plenty of farmer buyers on the lookout to get stock in earlier this year.

A sale high of €880 was paid for a 170kg three-month-old Angus-cross bull, as Angus-crosses made up over half of what was on offer.

Angus-cross bull calves made from €350 to €880, with prices for heifers ranging from €300 to €810.

Hereford-crosses and Friesians made up the balance of calves, with a similar number of both breeds present.

There was a floor price of €410 for Hereford-crosses, with bulls making up to €740 and heifer selling for up to €620.

Friesians and Friesain-crosses made from €120 to a top price of €530 which was paid for a pair of British Friesian bulls weighing 67kg.

Following the sale, mart manager Kevin Casey said: “Trade was on fire, I’d say we had an average of around €300 for Friesians, so that’s not a bad start.

“We had a ring full of customers farmers and a good share of online activity too. There wasn’t much exporter activity and those that were there were getting bought out by farmers.”

Expecting calf numbers to ramp up in the next fortnight, his advice to those selling calves was: “Try and present them to the mart weighing over 50kg. It’s a good guide and pays to give them the milk.

“We all saw that the standard of calf that came out last year was so much improved on other years and farmers deserve credit for it.”

It’s been a busy start to the year in the Waterford mart.

“We kicked off 2026 positively, selling very well. Although not at the peaks of 2025, the price of cattle is holding up very well compared to factory price.

“The outlook is fairly good. There are more customers than cattle at the moment and it was that way from the start. Since the very first sale of the year, there were plenty of farmers buyers out and ready this year.

“I’ve never seen it before; they don’t want to get caught out again. I see it in the cattle side; they’re out earlier, especially for handier cattle.”

Casey also noted solid demand for dairy replacement stock: “We averaged €2,500 at a recent dairy sale with a top of €3,250. TB is a big problem down here and there are a lot of people looking to buy in replacements. What’s a help for people selling cows is to have them in a 30-day TB test.