Camera at the Mart: weanlings wind up for festive season in Portumna

On Monday 4 December, Portumna Mart held its final Monday evening weanling sale until the mart reopens on 9 January.

There was just shy of 220 weanlings on offer, making it a relatively large sale for the time of year.

Monday evening’s sale was met with an 80% clearance rate, with a top call of €1,400 on the night being paid for a pair of March-born Limousin-cross weanling bulls weighing 493kg.

Quality evidently determined the strong prices on the evening, with the second-highest price of €1,390 going to a local farmer who turned out a March-born Charolais-cross weanling bull weighing 570kg.

Weanling bulls

Weanling bulls met a steady trade, with suckler-bred lots across all weight and age categories commanding the highest prices.

Bulls in the 200kg to 300kg weight category were led by Limousin-sired calves, which typically sold anywhere from €2.15/kg up to highs of €3.30/kg for the better conformed lots.

An example of this was seen when the hammer fell for a seven-month-old Limousin bull weighing 265kg at €880 (€3.32/kg).

Angus bulls in this section sold from €2.27/kg up to €2.52/kg, while a strong entry of Friesian-crosses sold in the range of €1.70/kg to €1.95/kg.

In the 300kg to 400kg category, Charolais-crosses led the way, selling anywhere from €2.16/kg up to just shy of €3.00/kg. A good example of the quality lots on offer saw a six-month-old Charolais-cross bull weighing 320kg sell for €930 (€2.91/kg).

Weanling heifers

Weanling heifers were similar to the bulls, in that the better-quality suckler-bred lots sold well ahead of their dairy-bred counterparts. Angus-cross heifers sold from €2.15/kg to €2.48/kg, with one June-born heifer weighing 230kg selling for €590 (€2.57/kg).

Charolais and Limousin-crosses led the way once again, with both breeds selling anywhere from €2.25/kg up to €3.25/kg.

One Charolais-cross heifer born in April 2023 and weighing 255kg sold for €850 (€3.33/kg) and a Limousin heifer born in April and weighing 275kg sold for €900 (€3.27/kg).

Mart manager Marie Younge told the Irish Farmers Journal: “We’ve had a great year here in Portumna and we’d like to thank the buyers, the sellers and the staff who made this year possible. This is the end of our Monday evening sales for a while, but we’re looking forward to seeing everyone back around the ring in January.”