Mart report: Donegal Dexter Cattle Group annual sale
The Donegal Dexter Cattle Group hosted its second annual pedigree Dexter show and sale.
The show and sale took place at Raphoe Livestock Mart, Co. Donegal, on Friday, November 10, 2023.
The pre-sale show was judged by Dexter breeder and chairperson of the Northern Ireland Cattle Group, Ryan Lavery.
According to the organisers, the demand "wasn’t as big as the previous year, but this was to be expected, as the entry requirements for the Agri-Climate Rural Environment Scheme (ACRES) drove demand significantly last year".
Despite this, cattle with high-star ratings did "very well", with Rosemary Marshall’s three-cow-and-calf teams making €1,300, €1,400 and €1,440/head.
The top-priced lot on the night was Bohillion Gemma, owned by Rosemary Marshall. The cow-calf pairing sold for €1,440 with a September-2023-born heifer calf at foot.
The table below gives a sample of the prices from the sale:
| High | Low | Average | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Heifers | €720 | €350 | €535 |
| Springers | €1,020 | €510 | €765 |
| Cows and calves | €1,440 | €530 | €985 |
Springing cows and heifers also did well, with Louise Marshall selling animals for €920, €940 and €1,020/head.
Breeding senior and junior bulls didn’t fare so well with many not selling in the ring. Also shorts (short-legged Dexters) were not in favour on the night.
In other traditional breed cattle news, Ballybofey and Stranorlar Cooperative Livestock Mart, Co. Donegal, is set to be the venue for a show and sale of rare-breed cattle.
The Stranorlar Traditional Native Breed Cattle Show and Sale will host its first-ever multi-native breed show this Saturday, November 18, 2023, at Stranorlar Mart, Co. Donegal.
The event will kick-off at 12:00p.m, and will feature a catalogued show and sale of registered and pure-bred unregistered cattle.
Some of the breeds set to feature in the event will include:
- Dexter;
- Droimeann;
- Kerry;
- Shorthorn;
- Belted Galloway;
- Highland;
- Irish Moiled;
- Certified organic cattle of any other breed.
There will be prizes on the day for the top-priced cattle and export facilities will be available.
All pens will be straw-bedded on the day of the show and sale.
The event will be supervised by Angela Flack and Des McFadden, secretary and chairman of the Donegal Traditional and Native Breed Society, as well as Brian Crawford, manager of Ballybofey and Stranorlar Co-op Livestock Mart Ltd.
