There were 36 less bulls sold on the year at the first - and maybe last - of the spring Kilkenny multi-breed bull sales.
This reduction in numbers sold coincided with the average price dropping by €229. Overall, 46 of the 88 bulls presented for sale sold to an average price of €2,392.
These reductions are much in line with what other pedigree sales are seeing since the coronavirus was announced as a pandemic.
Doom and gloom
In light of all the doom and gloom, one man who left the mart happy was Cork breeder John O’Callaghan.
A regular exhibitor of Friesian bulls at the auction centre, bulls carrying the Mountfarna prefix generally top the sale.
In fact, this is the fourth year in a row that the Bandon man has secured the top Friesian price of the sale.
However, that was only the tip of the iceberg, as Mountfarna bulls sold for the three top prices across all breeds. In total, Mr O’Callaghan sold all his four exhibits to average €3,775.
Top price of the sale
Top of these and claiming a price of €4,600 was Mountfarna Atom. This big powerful September 2018-born bull is a son of Gurranes Adema and the homebred Mountfarna D Sol Neva.
His four-year-old dam cow gave nearly 10,000kg in her last lactation, of which over 700kg was solids.
Mountfarna Morcourt sold for €4,000.
Securing the overall second-top price of €4,000 was Mountfarna Morcourt. This September 2018-born bull is from the herd's Janke family.
Packed with production, the last seven generations of Morcourt's lineage have all averaged over 10,000kg at over 3.5% protein. Sired by Morcourt Hilton, he is out of Mountfarna Dame Janke.
Giving 47kg/day
Hitting the market at €3,500 was Mountfarna Jubilation. Sired by Kirby Jupiter, he is out of Mountfarna Emerald Ruth who is currently giving 47kg/day.
Mountfarna Jubilation sold for €3,500.
Ruth produced nearly 12,500kg in her last lactation of 4.69% fat and 3.65% protein. Jubilation's third and fourth dams have both received diamond cow awards for being EX and producing more then 3,000kg of protein.
The last of O’Callaghan’s bulls to sell was Mountfarna Hillman, who fetched €3,000. From the same family as the high-seller, this November 2018-born bull is sired by the aforementioned Morcourt Hilton.
Dam of this black bull was EX91-classified Mountfarna Telemark Neva, herself a diamond cow award winner that has produced over 84,000kg in her seven lactations.
These high-end prices helped to maintain theaverage on par with last year, settling at €2,789 for the nine of the 18 forward sold.
The Limousin ring achieved the best clearance rate of the day at 62%. Eight of the 13 bulls forward sold to average €2,369, back over €300 on last year’s sale.
Limousin sale-topper Ballyquirke Nicky sold for €3,350
Prices here were led with a call of €3,350 for the youngest bull forward for the breed. Ballyquirke Nicky, a son of easy calving bull Ewdenvale Ivor, was brought out by local breeder Oliver Byrne.
With five stars on the terminal index and with a genotyped calving difficulty figure of only 1.3% on beef cows, this made him an easy sell.
Securing the second-top Limousin price was Melvin Masterson with his bull Boroside Nighthawk ET, which sold for €2,900. This Ronick Hawk son is out of Vivaldi daughter Keltic Joiedelareine. Born October 2018, Nighthawk carried five stars on most traits.
Four Simmental bulls and one Charolais bull were offered for sale, but none found demand and left the ring unsold.
The Angus breed sold the most bulls of any at the sale, with 25 of the 42 present finding new homes. Trade in this section was led with a call of €3,100, with a strong middle ground that meant the average price settled at €2,300.
Angus sale-topper Clooncolligan Rocky sold for €3,100.
While this is back €300 on a super sale last year, which saw 11 bulls make €3,000 or more, it must be considered somewhat good in the current climate.
Topping the Angus trade was Monica Diffley with Clooncolligan Rocky, which sold for €3,100. This October 2018-born son of Ballymagrine Wonder is out of a Cashelane Michael-bred cow.
Five stars on both the terminal and replacement indices, he carried a calving figure of 2.5% on beef cows.
Drumcrow Remus sold for €2,700.
Shane McKiernan sold his sole exhibit Drumcarbin Ronaldo for €2,800. This son of Carrington Park Time On is out of Drumcrow Joker daughter Drumcrow Neasa.
Born September 2018, he carried five stars on the replacement index and had a calving figure of only 1.2% on beef cows.
The Hereford breed found it a particularly tough day, with only one bull surpassing the €2,000 mark. On top of this, only four of the 15 bulls present met a trade, with the average price resting at €2,138.
The only highlight here was when Sean and Gary McKiernan sold their bull Corlismore Dynamite 991 for €3,000.
Top Hereford bull Corlismore Dynamite sold for €3,000.
This five-star bull was born in September 2018 and is a son of former overall national champion Shiloh-Farm Dynamite.
There were 36 less bulls sold on the year at the first - and maybe last - of the spring Kilkenny multi-breed bull sales.
This reduction in numbers sold coincided with the average price dropping by €229. Overall, 46 of the 88 bulls presented for sale sold to an average price of €2,392.
These reductions are much in line with what other pedigree sales are seeing since the coronavirus was announced as a pandemic.
Doom and gloom
In light of all the doom and gloom, one man who left the mart happy was Cork breeder John O’Callaghan.
A regular exhibitor of Friesian bulls at the auction centre, bulls carrying the Mountfarna prefix generally top the sale.
In fact, this is the fourth year in a row that the Bandon man has secured the top Friesian price of the sale.
However, that was only the tip of the iceberg, as Mountfarna bulls sold for the three top prices across all breeds. In total, Mr O’Callaghan sold all his four exhibits to average €3,775.
Top price of the sale
Top of these and claiming a price of €4,600 was Mountfarna Atom. This big powerful September 2018-born bull is a son of Gurranes Adema and the homebred Mountfarna D Sol Neva.
His four-year-old dam cow gave nearly 10,000kg in her last lactation, of which over 700kg was solids.
Mountfarna Morcourt sold for €4,000.
Securing the overall second-top price of €4,000 was Mountfarna Morcourt. This September 2018-born bull is from the herd's Janke family.
Packed with production, the last seven generations of Morcourt's lineage have all averaged over 10,000kg at over 3.5% protein. Sired by Morcourt Hilton, he is out of Mountfarna Dame Janke.
Giving 47kg/day
Hitting the market at €3,500 was Mountfarna Jubilation. Sired by Kirby Jupiter, he is out of Mountfarna Emerald Ruth who is currently giving 47kg/day.
Mountfarna Jubilation sold for €3,500.
Ruth produced nearly 12,500kg in her last lactation of 4.69% fat and 3.65% protein. Jubilation's third and fourth dams have both received diamond cow awards for being EX and producing more then 3,000kg of protein.
The last of O’Callaghan’s bulls to sell was Mountfarna Hillman, who fetched €3,000. From the same family as the high-seller, this November 2018-born bull is sired by the aforementioned Morcourt Hilton.
Dam of this black bull was EX91-classified Mountfarna Telemark Neva, herself a diamond cow award winner that has produced over 84,000kg in her seven lactations.
These high-end prices helped to maintain theaverage on par with last year, settling at €2,789 for the nine of the 18 forward sold.
The Limousin ring achieved the best clearance rate of the day at 62%. Eight of the 13 bulls forward sold to average €2,369, back over €300 on last year’s sale.
Limousin sale-topper Ballyquirke Nicky sold for €3,350
Prices here were led with a call of €3,350 for the youngest bull forward for the breed. Ballyquirke Nicky, a son of easy calving bull Ewdenvale Ivor, was brought out by local breeder Oliver Byrne.
With five stars on the terminal index and with a genotyped calving difficulty figure of only 1.3% on beef cows, this made him an easy sell.
Securing the second-top Limousin price was Melvin Masterson with his bull Boroside Nighthawk ET, which sold for €2,900. This Ronick Hawk son is out of Vivaldi daughter Keltic Joiedelareine. Born October 2018, Nighthawk carried five stars on most traits.
Four Simmental bulls and one Charolais bull were offered for sale, but none found demand and left the ring unsold.
The Angus breed sold the most bulls of any at the sale, with 25 of the 42 present finding new homes. Trade in this section was led with a call of €3,100, with a strong middle ground that meant the average price settled at €2,300.
Angus sale-topper Clooncolligan Rocky sold for €3,100.
While this is back €300 on a super sale last year, which saw 11 bulls make €3,000 or more, it must be considered somewhat good in the current climate.
Topping the Angus trade was Monica Diffley with Clooncolligan Rocky, which sold for €3,100. This October 2018-born son of Ballymagrine Wonder is out of a Cashelane Michael-bred cow.
Five stars on both the terminal and replacement indices, he carried a calving figure of 2.5% on beef cows.
Drumcrow Remus sold for €2,700.
Shane McKiernan sold his sole exhibit Drumcarbin Ronaldo for €2,800. This son of Carrington Park Time On is out of Drumcrow Joker daughter Drumcrow Neasa.
Born September 2018, he carried five stars on the replacement index and had a calving figure of only 1.2% on beef cows.
The Hereford breed found it a particularly tough day, with only one bull surpassing the €2,000 mark. On top of this, only four of the 15 bulls present met a trade, with the average price resting at €2,138.
The only highlight here was when Sean and Gary McKiernan sold their bull Corlismore Dynamite 991 for €3,000.
Top Hereford bull Corlismore Dynamite sold for €3,000.
This five-star bull was born in September 2018 and is a son of former overall national champion Shiloh-Farm Dynamite.
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