Cattle back in fields but land still too wet for machinery work - Kilkenny Farming

At last the rain has stopped and its great to see so much activity in the fields.

A lot of cattle have been let out for the first time in  seven or eight months and some fields have dried up enough to allow the ploughs to work.

The problem is that in wet areas it is still impossible to carry out any work without damaging the land so it’s a matter of being patient and hoping  that the break in the weather forecast towards the end of the month does  not cause too much damage.

CATTLE

On the cattle front  everything is flying with excellent prices all round. Last week beef bullocks peaked at €2500 for a 795 kilo Char with the average price for beef type males been €1850 or €2.78 per kilo.

Heifers also sold very well with beef types averaging €1830 per head with quality continental store bullocks and heifers ranging from €2.80 to €3.95 per kilo.

The cull cow sale which is now been held on a Tuesday in conjunction with our calf sale. The strength of the trade for both cull cows bullocks and heifers can be gaged from the fact that all cull cows were sold and out of the thousand cattle been offered for sale last Thursday only four failed to sell.

Don’t forget all cattle should be entered by 3.30pm on the previous Monday with cull cows before 3.30pm on Mondays. It should be noted that cull cows do not need to be entered but the reason we want to know how many are coming is to inform our many buyers, especially new ones, how many we are expecting. As the new buyers are travelling long distances so they need to be informed on Wednesday evening. The office number is 056 7721407. 

SHEEP

The sheep trade has proved to be excellent with a top call of €5.31 per kilo or 39 kilo making €207. Spring lambs ranged from €180 to €220 with heavy hoggets to €230 per head.

BULL SALE

Last week the Kilkenny Agricultural Society held its second Bull Sale in the Friesian sector. All six bulls were sold to average €2275 with John Hanly, Horse and Jockey, securing top price of €3000. In the Limousin sector 13 bulls were offered for sale. 11 found new homes with a top call €4900 and an average price of €3600.

The 21 Herefords on offer were difficult to sell with only 10 out of the 21  selling with a top call of €3600 and an average price of €2865. The biggest sector was in Ring1 where 51 AA bulls were offered for sale. 32 found new homes to average €3554 with a top price of €5000.The final bull sale of the season for Kilkenny Agricultural Society is Wednesday 15th May .

Until next time do be careful on the farm and good buying, good selling and good luck.