Camera at the Mart: exporters active at Macroom weanling sale

There was a big crowd at Macroom Mart’s autumn-born weanling show and sale on Saturday last, where there were 160 weanlings on offer.

Demand was good, as exporters kept a floor under the trade for U grading bulls.

A few exceptional outliers made prices heading for €4/kg, but in excess of €3/kg was freely paid for well-muscled continental stock, with three exporters buying ringside and one online.

Plainer R grading weanlings, those with Angus or Hereford breeding or weanlings aged closer to 12 months of age were back from this price mark.

Suckler breeding

Those with suckler breeding sold for €2.90/kg back to €2.50/kg, with a selection of Belgian Blue-crosses from the dairy herd breaking into this price range.

Angus and Hereford weanlings with dairy breeding were closer to €2.20/kg or €2.30/kg.

Numbers may seem slack compared with a decade ago, but the number of farmers specialising in autumn-calving sucklers has declined over the last 10 years.

With a strong dairy catchment area, especially to the east of the town, dairy-bred stock would account for almost 70% of what is traded through the mid-Cork venue

Good prices

Mart manager Jerh O’Sullivan said: “If you have continental cattle to sell, the price here is as good as anywhere else.

“As a Saturday sale, we’d facilitate a lot of farmer buyers who might be working off farm and here is very convenient for them.”

He also commented on the solid store trade of late.

“Trade for stores has been going well and we’re seeing feed lots active for forward stores at the moment.

“They’re targeting those over 500kg, with farmer buyers looking for that lighter store around 400kg.

“Around €2/kg to €2.10/kg is freely available for Friesian bullocks and we’ve seen choice lots exceed €2.20/kg, so that’s a good reflection of where the mart trade is.”

Outside of weanlings, there was good appetite for forward store cattle and cows.

Well-fleshed suckler cows were most in demand in the cow trade, while the number of store bullocks was on the rise.

For Angus and Herefords, €2.30/kg to €2.40/kg is the going rate, but a number of large lots of bullocks made over €2.50/kg and were heading for continental cattle prices.

At the upper end of the continental bullock and heifer trade, €2.60/kg is standard, with the top end of the trade making €3/kg.