Camera at the mart: numbers back but quality up in New Ross

New Ross Mart hosted the first of its special autumn weanling sales on Monday and met a lively trade.

Although there was a smaller entry than expected, quality remained very high, with the majority of lots through the ring Charolais and Limousin cross.

Mart manager Richard Kirwan said: “Numbers were a bit lower than we’d hoped but overall quality was very high. It’s a great start with plenty of farmer interest.”

He said although there was some hesitation to get entries with some farmers not having weighed cattle for the BEEPs scheme, those who attended left happy with good prices across the board.

These good prices meant that all 138 animals presented for sale met trade. Over 90% of these animals were autumn-born continental bull and heifer weanlings, with the odd few January born.

Heavier lots coming into the 400kg to 450kg weight category mainly sold between the €2.20 and €2.50 price range, with special lots making more than this.

Top price

Top price received on the day was €1,200 for a September-born Charolais bull weighing 450kg (€2.66/kg).

There were a good number of lots sold around this price, particularly for Charolais cattle with golden coats.

Farmer interest was extremely high throughout, driving prices above what shippers were willing to pay. This trend meant that even the lighter plainer types on offer were hitting the €2/kg to €2.20/kg mark for export.

It was a similar story on the heifer front. While most didn’t get into the higher weights, prices for your average rested around the €2.30/kg mark.

Again plainer or non-continental types sometimes dropped below the €2/kg mark, with shippers again active.

A small number of Angus and Hereford weaned calves born late autumn with some in January met a good demand. Dairy beef-bred calves reached as high as €2/kg.

Speaking after the sale, Richard Kirwan said: “It was great to get them all away on the day with a fair few going to online bidders.

“While numbers were small, we do expect a much bigger entry at our next special sale on 17 August”