Dowra Mart held its weekly cattle sale last Saturday, with 520 cattle through the ring.

Heavy cattle were in very good demand, but light grass cattle were back on the previous week. Grass supplies are tight in the northwest and it’s starting to show in the trade.

Cows were in demand, with some weighing over 700kg making up to €2.35/kg, with the average for this weight coming in at €2/kg to 2.20/kg. Lighter cows under 700kg saw similar prices, with the top cows reaching €2.30/kg, while older cows lacking in flesh were back at €1.60/kg to €1.80/kg.

Bullocks were a steady trade, with some of the tops over 500kg selling up to €2.70/kg, with these all being purchased by factory buyers.

Bullocks for feeding were slightly harder to shift, with some of these weighing 450kg-plus selling for up to €2.35/kg.

Dairy-bred bullocks were hit more than continental-bred bullocks, with these averaging €2/kg to €2.20/kg.

Weanling bulls were also a good trade, where bulls weighing 300kg to 400kg sold for an average of €2.65/kg.

Lighter bulls less than 300kg also saw a good trade, with these selling from €2.50/kg to €3/kg, with dairy-bred calves slightly behind in this weight category at €2/kg to €2.50/kg.

Heifers and weanling heifers saw a steady trade, although the current grass scarcity has hit the trade for these the most compared with recent weeks.

This 2012-born Simmental cow with her Charolais heifer calf at foot sold for €1,670.

This 2019-born Simmental cow with her Limousin heifer calf at foot sold for €1,920.

This April 2019-born Simmental heifer weighed 445kg and sold for €1,090 (€2.44/kg).

This March 2019-born Charolais bullock weighed 695kg and sold for €1,670 (€2.40/kg).

This January 2020-born pedigree-registered Limousin bull weighed 605kg and sold for €1,800 (€2.97/kg).

Heifer weanlings under 300kg sold from €2.60/kg to €2.80/kg. Weanlings over 300kg saw an average of €3.05/kg, with a show of top-quality Limousin-cross heifers bringing up the average.

Older heifers weighing 400kg-plus averaged around €2.50/kg, with lesser dairy-type heifers coming in lower. Heifers weighing over 500kg sold for an average of €2.50/kg.

Mart manager Terry McGovern said: “The trade was slightly back on previous weeks. We had lower numbers in the sale and the grass scarcity is starting to become noticeable, with less farmers to buy grass cattle.”

These three May 2020-born bullocks weighed 320kg and sold for €790 (€2.46/kg).

This 2014-born Limousin cow with her Charolais heifer calf at foot sold for €1,700.

This May 2020-born Hereford bull weighed 290kg and sold for €575 (€1.98/kg).

This 2015-born Charolais cow with her Charolais heifer calf at foot sold for €1,800.

This Limousin suck calf born in April sold for €360.

This 2008-born Limousin cow with her Limousin heifer calf at foot was scanned six weeks back in-calf and sold for €1,100.

This 2013-born Hereford cow with her Charolais heifer calf at foot sold for €1,050.

Sucklers saw a continued good trade, with the mart hosting a clearance sale of 21 suckler outfits, with some making €1,940 for the tops and back to €1,500 for lesser-quality cows. A number of dairy-bred cows with calves at foot came in around €1,100 to €1,200.