Big numbers of cattle continue to appear at marts around the country in the last seven days. There was a thought that good weather would deter some farmers concentrating on field work and cattle turnout from coming to the mart with cattle.
Big numbers of cattle continue to appear at marts around the country in the last seven days.
There was a thought that good weather would deter some farmers concentrating on field work and cattle turnout from coming to the mart with cattle.
However, marts were big again this week. Marts were small during bad weather a month ago and it appears that it’s those cattle that should have been sold a month ago that are currently filling the pens in marts.
While the good weather has brought the grass buyers out again, they were a little more cautious in their buying this week, with the cattle trade taking a minor speed wobble on its route to the €4/kg weanling.
Trade would still be described as very solid, with just minor reductions taking place across the bullock and heifer categories.
Weanlings saw a bigger dip last week, albeit they were coming off a very big high the week before.
Taking a look at this week’s Martbids analysis table, we see that the bullock trade in general was back a little on the previous week’s trading.
Top-quality bullocks in the 400kg to 500kg weight bracket came in at €3.26/kg this week, back 12c/kg on the week.
Average-quality bullocks in the same weight bracket came in at €2.81/kg this week, a drop of 6c/kg on the previous week, while poorer-quality dairy-crosses were unchanged at €2.37/kg.
Heavy bullocks were also back, with top-quality bullocks over 600kg coming in at €3.11/kg this week, a drop of 8c/kg on the previous week.
Average-quality bullocks over 600kg came in at €2.79/kg, with a little less bite for finished cattle from factory buyers in marts this week.
It was a similar story in the heifer rings this week, with trade also back a little.
Top-quality heifers in the 400kg to 500kg weight bracket came in at €3.13/kg, back 11c/kg on the previous week.
The heifer tarde was back in general across the board.
The only category that saw a slight improvement was top-end heavy heifers over 600kg, which came in at €3.16/kg, up 2c/kg on the week.
The weanling trade took a bigger hit this week, with poorer-quality lighter bull calves back over 20c/kg in some marts this week.
Top-quality bull calves in the 300kg to 400kg weight category are still a good trade at €3.81/kg. Heavier bulls in the 400kg to 450kg weight bracket came in at €3.62/kg, unchanged from the previous week.
Heavy heifer calves were hit hardest this week, with top-quality heifer calves in the 400kg to 450kg weight bracket back by 28c/kg on the week.
Top-quality heifer calves in the 300kg to 400kg weight bracket came in at €3.52/kg this week.
Speaking to a few mart managers, they say that the poorer-quality stores have probably taken the biggest hit this week, with dairy-cross Aberdeen Angus, Friesian and Hereford-cross cattle all easier bought.
Some of these poorer-quality types have dropped as low as €2.20/kg in marts this week.
Another good week of weather and high grass growth will see these lighter types pick up again in the coming weeks.
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