Carrigallen Mart held a special sale of dairy-cross calves at Saturday’s weekly calf sale.
The 40 calves were all donated by dairy farmers from Longford in aid of the Hooves for Hospice charity.
Top price of the day went to Eugene Fitzpatrick, Lisryan, Co Longford, for his three-month-old Friesian heifer calf.
After a flurry of bids, she was knocked down to local Moyne dairy farmer Sean Conefrey for €650.
Going that bit further
Prices were good, with many regular Carrigallen calf customers going a little bit further when purchasing calves on Saturday.
Speaking to the Irish Farmers Journal, one of the sale organisers Eugene Fitzpatrick said: “A few of us got together and said we would like to do something for a local charity.
It’s a great achievement from a small sale
"It’s a good cause, as the midlands area is the only area without a specialised hospice.
"We reckon we will have close to between €12,000 and €15,000 raised when we have all the money collected. It’s a great achievement from a small sale.
"We had massive support from everybody, including Helen Kells in Carigallen Mart, calf sellers, calf buyers, along with neighbours and friends.”
General calf sale
In the general calf sale, the calf trade continued to be strong.
Good, straight Friesian bull calves were making between €80 and €120, depending on age and quality.
Younger, weaker Friesian bull calves were back at €40 to €60.
Good strong Hereford and Aberdeen Angus bulls were hitting as high as €300/head, with heifer calves not far behind at €250 to €280/head, again depending on age and quality.
Continental calves were also a very good trade, with a top price of €480 for a six-week-old Limousin heifer calf in the continental heifers, while a six-week-old Charolais bull calf hit €600.
Export numbers
Calf exports for 2021 are running a little ahead of 2020 levels, with 113,285 calves exported so far in 2021, 897 head ahead of the 2020 numbers.
The Netherlands market had been performing poorly early in the season, but has recovered somewhat in recent weeks.
This Friesian heifer calf was born on 7 March 2021, had an EBI of €234 and sold for €450.
This Friesian heifer calf was born on 5 February and sold for €400.
This Hereford bull calf was born on 17 April and sold for €270.
This Friesian bull calf was born on 8 April 2021 and sold for €160.
This Hereford bull calf was born on 17 April and sold for €270.
This Hereford bull calf was born on 13 April 2021 and sold for €340.
This Hereford heifer calf was born on 21 March 2021 and sold for €250.
This Hereford heifer calf was born on 10 April 2021 and sold for €340.
This Aberdeen Angus heifer calf was born on 10 April 2021 and sold for €200.
This Aberdeen Angus bull calf was born on 17 April 2021 and sold for €340.
Carrigallen Mart held a special sale of dairy-cross calves at Saturday’s weekly calf sale.
The 40 calves were all donated by dairy farmers from Longford in aid of the Hooves for Hospice charity.
Top price of the day went to Eugene Fitzpatrick, Lisryan, Co Longford, for his three-month-old Friesian heifer calf.
After a flurry of bids, she was knocked down to local Moyne dairy farmer Sean Conefrey for €650.
Going that bit further
Prices were good, with many regular Carrigallen calf customers going a little bit further when purchasing calves on Saturday.
Speaking to the Irish Farmers Journal, one of the sale organisers Eugene Fitzpatrick said: “A few of us got together and said we would like to do something for a local charity.
It’s a great achievement from a small sale
"It’s a good cause, as the midlands area is the only area without a specialised hospice.
"We reckon we will have close to between €12,000 and €15,000 raised when we have all the money collected. It’s a great achievement from a small sale.
"We had massive support from everybody, including Helen Kells in Carigallen Mart, calf sellers, calf buyers, along with neighbours and friends.”
General calf sale
In the general calf sale, the calf trade continued to be strong.
Good, straight Friesian bull calves were making between €80 and €120, depending on age and quality.
Younger, weaker Friesian bull calves were back at €40 to €60.
Good strong Hereford and Aberdeen Angus bulls were hitting as high as €300/head, with heifer calves not far behind at €250 to €280/head, again depending on age and quality.
Continental calves were also a very good trade, with a top price of €480 for a six-week-old Limousin heifer calf in the continental heifers, while a six-week-old Charolais bull calf hit €600.
Export numbers
Calf exports for 2021 are running a little ahead of 2020 levels, with 113,285 calves exported so far in 2021, 897 head ahead of the 2020 numbers.
The Netherlands market had been performing poorly early in the season, but has recovered somewhat in recent weeks.
This Friesian heifer calf was born on 7 March 2021, had an EBI of €234 and sold for €450.
This Friesian heifer calf was born on 5 February and sold for €400.
This Hereford bull calf was born on 17 April and sold for €270.
This Friesian bull calf was born on 8 April 2021 and sold for €160.
This Hereford bull calf was born on 17 April and sold for €270.
This Hereford bull calf was born on 13 April 2021 and sold for €340.
This Hereford heifer calf was born on 21 March 2021 and sold for €250.
This Hereford heifer calf was born on 10 April 2021 and sold for €340.
This Aberdeen Angus heifer calf was born on 10 April 2021 and sold for €200.
This Aberdeen Angus bull calf was born on 17 April 2021 and sold for €340.
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