Mart Price Tracker

I was talking to a fellow Sligo man during the week that was all set to go down tonight. He ventured to the general sale a fortnight ago and bought a few teams and is interested in more. I'm working tonight and only for that I'd have went for the spin. It's probably a blessing in disguise as I'd only buy something and it's a fair trek home with a load of stock and anything could happen where the same man is involved.

It's a tight touch for the 2nd calver imo, it's a long time from now until February and it probably wouldn't take much more to buy her then. There was a handy first calving CHx heifer tonight coming in December to ZAG at €1200. A friend of mine remarked that she wasn't dear but I reckon you'd buy her softening to calve for near the same money at Xmas. It's one thing buying a springer at the money ready to calve but I could never understood paying strong money for something 4,5 or 6 months gone.

The dry cow's seemed very dear in our town tonight both beef and store's. I carried a few cow's to it and couldn't understand what they made tbh. A bare handy 09 born CHx cow 595kg at €1120 I don't know where you'd go with her. If she was a €100 less you'd still say it was alright. Cattle seemed to have strengthened this week again even the plainer types.

I can't speak for you're part of the world Bass but I'm not expecting a glut of cattle as such with us. The marts will get gradually larger from now on until late autumn but I don't think there's huge numbers to be traded like other year's. I never witnessed as much cattle going through the marts locally in June, July and August as was the case this year.

Generally after mid May throughput would fall off a cliff until the beginning of September but that never happened during the summer gone by. One of the marts I frequent had almost 300 cattle at a sale in late July which would be unheard of. The corresponding week last year saw just over 100 head offered. It was a similar story every week, 200-250 head where as other year's there'd be less than 100 cattle on offer.

It was the same in the majority of marts here in the North West to the best of my knowledge. I'd ask lads was there much in Castlerea/Dowra/Ballina ect and they'd all comment that you'd swear it was October not July with the yards of cattle present. Granted a certain amount of lad's took advantage of the red hot live trade for factory fit stock especially cows but that only accounts for a certain amount of the excess. There's a world of stock of all kinds traded during the summer that would usually have been held until the autumn. I'd be of the opinion that there'll be no serious big shows of stock from now until Xmas and I don't see any great collapse in prices likely in the medium term.