Saturday last saw Mohill Mart, Co Leitrim, host its weekly cattle sale with almost 150 cattle going through the ring.

The sale started off with a lively trade for cows followed by bulls, bullocks and heifers, with a strong ringside contingent of buyers coupled with a strong online presence.

Factory-fit cows met a strong trade, where some of the top cows were making over €1,000 with their weight, while lighter cows for feeding in store condition were slightly harder sold, with some of these struggling to make €2/kg.

However, quality and age were big factors in this, with some buyers not in the market for older cows.

Cow prices

Cows weighing 600kg-plus met a sale average of €2.10/kg, while heavier cows over 750kg met an average of €2.05/kg.

Lighter cows brought up the rear, with these averaging €1.90/kg under 600kg, with some top stock at this weight making close to €2.40/kg.

“The demand for fat factory-fit cows is still there, while we can see a slight slip in the demand for feeding or store cows this week. However, the trade for these is still steady,” said mart manager Darragh Barden.

Bullock trade

Bullocks were met with possibly the best trade, with some of these making €1,100 with their weight, with great demand from buyers ringside, driven by factory agents.

Heavy bullocks were to the fore, with some of these over 750kg averaging €2.40/kg.

Lighter bullocks weighing 650kg-plus met a similar trade, with an overall average of €2.35/kg, while the top in this bracket made €2.56/kg.

Lighter bullocks weighing 500kg-plus didn’t meet the same demand as the rest. However, they still came in at an average of €2.30/kg, with a top price of €2.39/kg.

Heifers

Heifers followed the bullocks with a fairly similar trade, although it mightn’t have been as hot as the bullocks.

Heavier heifers met a strong trade with heifers 650kg-plus meeting an average of €2.43/kg, with a top price in this weight bracket of €2.58/kg.

Lighter heifers weighing 550kg-plus met a strong trade with an average €2.40/kg, with a top price of €3.02/kg.

Heifers under 500kg had a tougher trade, with many dairy-bred heifers in this bracket dragging the average back slightly meeting an average of €2.15/kg, with a top price of €2.75/kg.

In pictures

This 2019-born Charolais bull weighed 720kg and sold for €1,780 (€2.47/kg).

This February 2020-born Simmental bullock weighed 525kg and sold for €1,150 (€2/kg).

This 2015-born Charolais bull weighed 1,155kg and sold for €2,140 (€1.85/kg).

This 2018-born Charolais cow, with her March-born Charolais heifer calf at foot, sold for €2,200.

This April 2019-born Charolais bullock weighed 755kg and sold for €1,840 (€2.43/kg).

This March 2019-born Charolais heifer weighed 420kg and sold for €1,040 (€2.47/kg).

This June 2019-born Limousin heifer weighed 585kg and sold for €1,450 (€2.47/kg).

This June 2019-born Hereford heifer weighed 465kg and sold for €1,040 (€2.23/kg).

This May 2019-born Hereford bullock weighed 825kg and sold for €1,950 (€2.36/kg).

This April 2020-born Aberdeen Angus heifer weighed 375kg and sold for €590 (€1.57/kg).

This May 2019-born Limousin heifer weighed 420kg and sold for €1,120 (€2.66/kg).