Aurivo Livestock Marts operate four centres in the western region of Ireland – Balla and Ballinrobe Marts in Co Mayo, Mohill Mart in Co Leitrim and Ballymote in Co Sligo. 2014 was a good year for all four marts, but overall, numbers are slightly back by approximately 4%. The drop has mainly come in the weanling area.

Bull weanlings and heifers have been a very good trade again this year. It is surprising to see bull weanlings have averaged €20/head more this year compared with 2013. There has been a significant leap in heifer prices as they were €50/head dearer.

In terms of weanling weights, we haven’t noticed any real change, which seems strange, as the weather this year was considerably warmer. Farmers might have cut back on feeding meal, particularly around the time of weaning.

Bulls for 2013 on average came in at 349kg, and over the past 12 months they averaged 350kg.

Heifers were a phenomenal trade all year round. Weanling heifers in particular were probably the best trade in all four of our marts. Large numbers of farmers were sourcing them either for replacements or for feeding down the line.

The general consensus seems to be there’s more confidence when it comes to finishing heifers. They tick more of the boxes on the grid and with all the confusion over weights and specs in the past year, farmers in many cases have stayed away from bullocks and bulls.

I found that the demand for export weanlings wasn’t extremely consistent this year in comparison with previous years. Some days you would have really noticed it.

I suppose it depended on the destination where buyers were shipping weanlings over to. Some weeks it was all good-quality continental U type animals they were looking for, where in other weeks, R grade and lesser-quality weanlings fitted the bill.

Worryingly, bullock prices were back €30 to €50/head this year. Numbers were similar to last year, but we definitely didn’t have the same amount of punters for them. The majority of them would be going for feeding, usually up North or along the east coast.

It was a difficult year for heavier cattle also and we missed the northern trade, that’s for sure. We only got a trickle of customers in contrast to the regular numbers that would usually be ever-present around the ring.

In the back-end, trade was underpinned by an increase in activity, particularly from those who were sourcing stock for smaller abattoirs across the border.

Northern trade had the worst impact on our mart in Mohill. Our mart in Leitrim would be renowned for having good-quality store cattle and at times, trade probably wasn’t as good as it should have been.

So many people spoke throughout the year about doing this and that to try to help the trade, but very little was actually done.

The majority of what was exported across the border was in fact beef.

Dry cows were 20kg/head heavier and €20/head dearer on average. Throughout the year, we held numerous in-calf heifer sales in all four marts and demand was very strong.

Only a couple of months ago we held a sale of 40 in-calf heifers. On average, the replacements went for just under €2,000 on the day. One exceptional heifer fetched €3,000.

Heifers which were inseminated by AI bulls seemed to be the animals farmers were most keen on purchasing. Good trade on the day was reflected by how well farmers had got on with their stock earlier in the year.

The outlook for next year, just going by exports and calf registrations so far, doesn’t look too positive. 2015 should prove to be a difficult year to hold numbers.

Sheep numbers in Ballinrobe were up by 4%. It was a super year for sheep and the average lamb prices were up at €87 to €96, an increase of 9.7% across the board.

The breeding trade in my opinion drove the overall sheep prices in marts. Hoggets were making great money and farmers were happy to pay good prices as they were getting good money for their lambs. There has been a renewed interest in the sheep industry – it’s great to see.

The year started slow enough in comparison to others, but in general, it was a very positive one. Store prices throughout the year were above beef prices.

I suppose farmers were continually hoping beef prices would rise. Trade remained strong over the summer months and well into the autumn as grass was in abundance.

Trade was strong in early spring as farmers were eager for stock. Bullocks were a roaring trade down here throughout the year and I estimate numbers to be up by 1,500 year-on-year.

A little survey I carried out on steers and heifers showed stores were €40/head dearer.

Although beef prices were poor, they were somewhat compensated by the cracking weather we had over the past 12 months.

Land was in super condition and grass was extremely plentiful. Cattle had sun on their backs all summer and it really goes to show just how influential the weather is, as weights were definitely heavier.

In terms of quality, plainer types were more expensive in spring, but as the year progressed, shapier animals were the focus of attention as the gap between quality and lesser-quality stock became evident again.

All cattle prices were up and weight seemed to compensate for quality across all categories of stock.

Cull cow numbers are high around these parts and demand for feeding cows never diminished through the year.

I expect next year to be a very busy year for cull cows. With the quotas being diminished there will be a lot more cows around and the fact animals will no longer need to be tested for brucellosis will most certainly increase throughput.

Beef price throughout 2014 was poor to say the least, but trade has been strong up here. Throughput is up 3% to 4%. The year started out brightly and demand for grass cattle was very strong.

Weanling numbers would be slightly back (2%) on the previous year. Farmers were eager for weanling heifers and good-quality bull weanlings were in high demand. It was surprising, as we’d only have very few export customers up here.

Store cattle remained a good trade as the year progressed, with it being a great year for growth. The prices paid around the ring were higher than the prices factories were offering as keeping grass eaten seemed to be the farmer’s main priority.

Heavier types have been the real star of the show up here of late. We had a show and sale in early December and fat stock fetched great prices. Farmers who gave big prices for store cattle earlier in the year have been fortunate as beef prices have risen over the past few weeks.

Sheep numbers up until December have increased by almost 10%. It really has been a great year for sheep farmers and numbers have increased by 50% since 2012.

Even over the past couple of months, the amount of new faces around the mart has been huge. It’s the first year in a long time where I have seen such a demand for lambs all year round.

In many ways, I suppose farmers who have been operating mixed farms may have become frustrated with the current beef trends and opted to concentrate more on the sheep then on the cattle.

Throughput for both cattle and sheep over the past year is well up on 2013. It has been a bumper year, mainly down to the fact that farmers had a lot more grass.

Cattle numbers were up by 10% – it has been a very good year on that front. Prices were relatively strong in early spring, with quality weanlings doing the best of the trade.

It has been a funny kind of a year. On one hand, the stores and weanlings were going well, but heavier animals suffered from March to July.

Finished animals and forward stores took a hit, particularly forward Freisian bulls. Plainer stores did quite well this year.

It was certainly a two-tiered market for the second quarter of the year. The grass buyer was strong and still had confidence in the market. Bulls were a different story though, as they suffered this year. Plenty of talk around the ring in the first half of the year was whether or not lads should be castrating them.

From the beginning of July there was a slow but steady increase in the demand for heavier types. Dry cows were a good trade, both feeding cows and heavy ones also.

Cull cow numbers are most certainly up in comparison to other years.

It was a very upbeat year for sheep. Similar to cattle numbers, they increased considerably. Trade was very busy and in my opinion, it was probably the most positive year price-wise for sheep farmers, considering all classes were strong together. It is the first year in a long time farmers were relatively happy with the prices they received.

Hoggets were doing very well in spring and this in turn boosted lamb prices. There was a lot of grass around this year and there’s no doubt it had a positive impact on trade.

Store lambs were very dear throughout the summer. Those buyers have been lucky though and farmers who paid well for lambs over the summer have been rewarded in recent months with the price for fat lambs continuing to rise since October.

Record prices were paid for breeding ewes throughout the year and in particular at our show and sale. Farmers were getting €25 to €30/head more in comparison with 2013.