March 16, 2021 6:10 am
The wet weather failed to put much of a dampener on the trade for cattle last week, as prices reported were more or less unaffected from the previous week.
There were fears that the heavy rainfall would make some farmers postpone their buying of store cattle until the weather cleared up.
Speaking with one mart manager in particular about custom last week, they had noticed some buyers taking a step back – yet prices weren’t hit too badly.
In the store trade, some marts were seeing similar week-on-week prices paid – with the 500-600kg quality continental bullock continuing to range from €2.22/kg up to highs of €2.45/kg.
It was a good time for farmers selling store cattle last week with reports of week-on-week prices rising by ‘€30-40/head’, according to one mart manager from the west of Ireland.
The store cattle trade rightly took off last week, with a manager from a mart in the southern half of the country stating some farmers were paying ‘insane prices’ for stores.
Looking at the bullocks first, quality continental stores in the 400-550kg bracket were generally selling from €2.25-2.45/kg last week, while some bullocks were securing prices above €2.50/kg.
Angus and Hereford store bullocks were seeing similar enough trends to the previous week, with some marts recording stronger prices for Hereford bullocks. Falling into the 400-550kg category, these generally sold from €1.90-2.15/kg.
March 2, 2021 6:10 am
Last week proved to be a good period for selling store cattle, as a strengthening demand from farmers was noted by mart managers. Many farmers were not afraid to contest it out to get their hands on suitable store bullock or heifer for grass.
The continental store bullocks (weighing 400-500kg) were reported to be selling from €2.20/kg up with some lots selling up to €2.55/kg in a number of marts. Last week, Padraig McElroy quoted these types of bullocks were fetching prices up to €2.60/kg.
Hereford and Angus bullocks weighing above 500kg were sought after last week, with plenty of marts recording healthy prices of €1.95/kg up to €2.35/kg in some cases.