Demand remains firm for stores in Cahir

There were almost 500 cattle at the weekly sale in Cahir Mart on Wednesday last and the strength of demand is reflected in a full clearance. Dry cow numbers have begun to rise driven by bad weather and the grazing season coming to an end. Forward stores were a little thin on the ground while spring 2024-born stock were in solid demand.

Angus, Herefords and Friesians made up the majority of what was on offer and for bullocks, the heavier they got the narrower the price per kg became. For those weighing from 500kg and 600kg, Hereford-crosses averaged €3.89/kg, Angus-crosses were 5c/kg behind them while Friesians of the same weight sold for an average price of €3.68/kg.

For the lighter stores between 400kg and 500kg, this differential between top and bottom stretched to 70c/kg. Again the average price for Hereford was ahead of the rest as they made €4.32/kg, Angus were averaging €4.07/kg while Friesians traded for €3.62/kg.

The number of dry dairy cows has increased and at the upper end of trade well fleshed ones were pushing for and exceeding €2,000 at times while €3/kg was got for lighter parlour cows.

Following the sale, manager Brian Murphy said:

“Trade was good enough; heavier bullocks might have been back a little but lighter ones were dear enough all the time. Bad weather played into trade over the last two weeks and factories getting bigger numbers has put a slight bit of pressure on the bigger cattle but you expect that at this time on year anyway. The majority of farmers have majority probably bought what they want and there’s a few less around the ring.”

Over all, it’s been a great year. The store trade was exceptional all year, calves were unbelievable in spring and that carried on into the weanlings. We had sales every two weeks with September and October being very busy. It’s after maybe quieting a little recently but we were averaging about 400 at those sales and getting great prices.”

The strength of demand all year saw farmers having to adapt all year. This varied from those having to change the type of stock they bought to stay within budget but it also resulted in more farmers take stock to the mart as prices rose on a regular basis.

“It was hard for farmers to value stock at home and we saw a lot of new faces because of it. They were probably farmers that didn’t use the mart a lot before so it’s great to see the likes of that. That happened with both store cattle and especially heavy cattle that were near factory fit.”