Blessington Mart: Cattle to €1,280 over and sheep to €156

Blessington Mart – Cattle Prices 03-11-2022

According to a spokesperson for Blessington Mart, a “very good” trade prevailed for bullocks and heifers on Thursday, November 3^rd, 2022.

The mart spokesperson reported that there was activity from customers both at the ringside and online.

Prices ranged from €140 to €1,280 over the kg at Thursday’s cattle sale.

Feeding cows fetched from €240-€480 over the kg, while beef cows sold from €500-€1,000 over the kg.

Meanwhile, Hereford and Angus store heifers pushed from €330-€580 over, while continental store heifers made from €400-€780 over and beef heifers changed hands from €840-€1,060 over the kg.

In the bullock ring, beef types varied from €960-€1,280 over the kg, while continental stores sold from €440-€1,000 over, Hereford and Angus stores found new owners from €400-€680 over and Friesian stores made from €140-€420 over.

This week’s sheep prices

According to a spokesperson for Blessington Mart, there was a smaller entry on offer at the mart’s sheep sale on Tuesday, November 1^st, 2022.

The spokesperson cited Monday’s “inclement” weather conditions as the primary driver of a reduced throughput, but despite this, a “very good” trade prevailed for all classes.

• Lighter ewes – €66-€112/head;
• Heavy ewes – €120-€156/head;
• Heavy lambs – €133-€138 or €79-€84 over;
• Factory lambs – €118-€133 or €74-€80 over;
• Store lambs over 40kgs – €102-€118 or €62-€75 over;
• Over 35kgs: store lambs – €85-€102 or €50-€67 over;
• Over 30kgs: store lambs – €66-€85 or €36-€58 over.

Other mart reports: Balla Mart’s weanling sale

According to Stephen Hannon, trade for weanlings at Balla Mart’s most recent sale on Tuesday, November 1^st, 2022, was “similar to the previous week”.

The general manager of Aurivo Marts and manager of Balla Mart reported that good-quality types “sold well” while lighter, plainer sorts were “harder to sell”.

Speaking following the weekly weanling sale, he said:

“There were some nice calves on offer with people holding on to them as long as possible, but now weather conditions and feed costs are driving them out.”

“Buyers said that the tops 350kg+ were making about 3.00/kg; bulls which are getting harder to find.”

According to Hannon, weanlings 200kg to 350kg averaged €2.89/kg, while bulls 350kg to 450kg levelled at 2.78/kg and those 450kg+averaged €2.61/kg.

Read more on this mart report.