Big sale of weanlings at Mayo mart
A big sale of over 500 weanlings at Balla Mart yesterday saw only a handful missed, with numbers being driven out by the terrible rain over the past few weeks.
There was a great trade, with light bulls under 350kg up slightly by 5 cent/kg on last week and up by approximately €850 to €900 on last year.
The sale saw some lovely Charolais calves on offer, and it is expected that these better, heavier bull calves will soon be cleared out.
Bulls under 200kg averaged €6.87/kg, while bulls 200kg to 350kg averaged €6.13/kg - up from 6.08/kg last week, with the tops making over €7/kg. Bull weanlings 350kg to 450kg averaged €5.74/kg - up from €5.72/kg last week, and heavier bulls 450kg plus averaged €5.52/kg - €5.51/kg last week.
A cracking February born bull weighing 355kg made €2,700 (€7.61/kg) for a Ballina farmer.
Top prices in the bulls included:
190kg LMX €1,650 (€8.68/kg)
290kg CHX €2,340 (€8.07/kg)
340kg CHX €2,420 (€7.12/kg)
355kg CHX €2,700 (€7.61/kg)
There was a substantial amount bidding online to buy heifers, where a few fancy Belgian Blue heifers suitable for breeding saw some buying.
One January born BBX heifer weighing 350kg made €3,350 (€9.57/kg) for a farmer from Belmullet who had a pen of cracking calves.
Another 390kg BBX heifer sold for €2,700 (€6.92/kg), while a February born Charolais heifer weighing 320kg was sold for €2,300 (€7.19/kg) by a farmer from Kilmaine.
Stock for feeding were very similar to last week, as can be seen from the averages below, but up by approximately €900 on this time last year.
Lighter store heifers 200kg to 350kg averaged €6.03/kg, while heifers 350kg to 450kg averaged €5.60/kg.
Tops in the heifers included:
190kg LMX €1,500 (€7.89/kg)
250kg LMX €2,020 (€8.08/kg)
290kg LMX €2,100 (€7.24/kg)
320kg CHX €2,300 (€7.19/kg)
350kg BBX €3,350 (€9.57/kg)
There will be another sale next Tuesday (October 14), a day sale, with booking this Thursday (9th) on lowcall 0818 301 401 between 9.30 a.m. and 1 p.m.
BREEDING HEIFER SALE
A reminder too about the mart's upcoming special breeding heifer sale on Friday evening, October 24, with booking on October 16. Numbers are limited to 250.