John Bambrick of Castlewarren gets E4,200 for bull

The weather has taken a turn for the worst and has started to effect the trade for the first time in many months. Grass has started to disappear and farmers who had surplus supply now discover they are tight on feed. The main animals to show a weakening are the plain type plus bulls which attract a limited number of buyers due to the fact that they are a specialised product to produce. With no immediate sign of an improvement in the weather it could well be a few weeks before trade starts to stabilise.

Factories have started to reduced the days they kill rather than reduce quotes. On Thursday quality cattle still sold but as mentioned earlier plain types have come under pressure .A lot of 6 Char bullocks weighing 375 kg made €1,155 which indicates that quality still sells with a lot of 2 Lim 650 kg making €1,655 .With bullocks still making this type of money the reduction in price has really only effected plain types.

Last Mondays sheep sale proved very disappointing for all early lamb producers with a reduction in price of up to €15 for some lambs on last week’s returns.Hopefully trade will stabilise or farmers involved in the sheep industry will once again question if they should remain in this sector of agriculture.

Last Wednesday the Kilkenny Agricutural Society held its second bull sale with 141 on offer trad was fairly firm with 84% clearence. All Simmentals were sold with an average price of €2,433 with a top call of €3,000 for a bull owned by Gareth Behan, Ballyfinn. The Limousin breed had an average price of €3287 with a top call of €5000 for a bull owned by Gearoid Kennedy, Coolrain, Portlaois one bull in this sector failed to sell. The Friesian section saw 68% clearance with an average price of €2,760 and John Ring of Blarney Co Cork securing the top price of €4,900. The top call for Herefords was for a bull owned by Eamon Mc Kiernan Monasterboice, Drogheda which made €3,950 the breed average was €2900 per head. The Aberdeen Angus section had only one bull unsold with a top call of €5,000 for a animal owned by Leo Mc Enroe, Virginia Co Cavan the breed average was €2,933. The Charolais Bulls averaged €2720 with a top call of €4200 for a bull owned by John Bambrick Castlewarren .The final bull sale of the season takes place on Wednesday 16th May.

Cattle

600 kg + €500 to €1000 over kg (€1.80 to €2.60)

No. Breed Wt. €/kg Price(€)

2 LIM 650 €2.55 €1,655

2 LIM 617 €2.50 €1,540

1 FR 755 €1.92 €1,450

5 HFD 603 €2.28 €1,375

500 - 600 kg €470 TO €860 (€1.80 TO €2.60)

1 ch 530 €2.62 €1,390

1 BB 545 €2.46 €1,340

1 HFD 525 €2.42 €1,270

5 FR 559 €2.04 €1,140

400 - 500 kg €330 TO €910 OVER. (€1.75 TO €3.07

2 CH 440 €3.07 €1,350

2 LIM 455 €2.31 €1,050

5 FR 469 €2.13 €1,000

7 AA 455 €2.04 €930

Under 400 kg €350 TO €800 OVER. (€1.78 TO €3.29)

2 CH 275 €3.29 €905

3 LIM 398 €3.02 €1,200

7 FR 387 €2.30 €890

2 AA 342 €2.28 €780

Cull Cows - Friesian - €100 to €670 over kg; Continental - €260 to €800 over k

Beef Heifers€1,000 to €1115 over kg (€1.87 to €3.82)

1 CH 595 €2.54 €1,510

3 LIM 579 €2.46 €1,425

4 CH 528 €2.42 €1,280

1 FR 645 €1.94 €1,250

Butcher Heifers €500 TO €660 OVER. (€2.07 TO €2.53)

1 CH 430 €2.53 1,090

2 CH 462 €2.21 1,020

3 AA 468 €2.07 970

1 AA 470 €2.43 1,140

Store Heifers €500 TO €633 OVER KG. (2 TO €2.74

1 LIM 3 375 €2.72 €1,020

3 LIM 365 €2.74 €1,000

4 CH 377 €2.63 €990

2 CH 362 €2.60 €940

Sheep

Spring lambs met a disappointing trade on Monday.

Butcher Hoggets €50 to €65 over the kilo

No. Wt.(kg) €/kg Price(€)

10 64 €1.92 123

22 58 €2.09 121

13 54 €2.13 115

11 53 €1.94 103

Spring Lambs €65 to €75 over the kilo

No. Wt.(kg) € / kg Price(€)

10 51 €2.45 125

13 48 €2.48 119

10 42 €2.74 115

10 39 €2.69 105

Store Lambs

No. Wt.(kg) Price(€)

#DIV/0!

N/A #DIV/0!

Cast Ewes - €50 to €125 per head

Breeding Ewes - Ewes with lambs at foot €150 to €250 per unit

Calves Friesian Bulls €150 to €440 per head; Continental Bulls €250 to €520 per head; Continental Heifers €200 to €395 per head; A.Angus/Hfd Bulls €180 to €460 per head; A.Angus/Hfd Heifers €140 to €300 per head

Dairy Stock

Friesian Maiden Heifers €500 to €960 per head; fresh Calved Cows €850 to €1300; fresh Calved Fr Heifers €900 to €1500 per head