On Friday (October 15) Carnew Mart held its fortnightly sale of dairy stock, with the in-calf heifers the highlight of the sale.

Eugene Clune, Carnew Mart’s yard manager said after the sale that the quality stock on offer "met a very brisk trade throughout".

The arrival of October has seen freshly calved cows return to the sale ring, with Eugene stating that: "Freshly calved stock sold from €1,400 to €1,900."

The autumn has also seen the return of in-calf heifers and bulling heifers, with farmers looking to move excess stock off farms ahead of housing.

According to Eugene the highlight of the sale was the 20 in-calf heifers brought forward by Eddie Kinsella of Leskinfere, Gorey, Co. Wexford.

His is a top quality herd of artificial insemination (AI) bred cows and heifers for generations, with milk recording data from 2020 showing average yields of over 8,000kg of milk at 4.33% fat and 3.54% protein, with a total of 629kg of milk solids.

The heifers on offer were sired by top AI bulls, such as: Fr4673; Fr4724; Fr2298; and Fr4513.

The 20 heifers on offer from Eddie Kinsella's herd sold on the day for between €1,480 and €1,800.

Commenting on this portion of the sale, Eugene stated that: "Top price for this portion of the sale went to Lot 18, selling for €1,800."

Eugene described her as:

"Another notable heifer in this section of the sale was Lot 17, also sired by Fr4513, due in February with a Dam record of 8,640kg of milk and 625kg of milk solids. [She] sold for €1,680," he added.

Moving to the final section of the sale, which was made up of bulling and in-calf heifers, Eugene stated that: "Bulling heifers with no records sold from €540 for light heifers to €700 for heifers fit to bull in the new year.

"Friesian heifer calves sold from €250 for soft calves, to €450 for stronger calves with records," he concluded.