Carnew Mart in Co. Wicklow hosted its weekly general cattle sale on Saturday, May 25, with over 580 head of cattle on offer, as well as 60 sucklers.

A sale report from the Co. Wicklow mart venue noted that the overall general trade for cattle "met a much improved trade" with cattle up €50-70/head throughout the sale.

According to mart staff, there was "a notable sharper trade for beef and forward cattle", and this was attributed to "strong demand from factory agents, northern customers and online wholesalers".

Cow prices from Carnew Mart:

902kg Charolais cow sold for €2,580;
814kg Limousin cow sold for €2,520;
836kg Limousin cow sold for €2,440;
732kg Parthenaise cow sold for €2,070.

An improvement was reported in the cow trade at the mart venue, with prices of up to €3.10/kg described as "common" for heavy continental cows.

Beef heifers made as high as €3.30/kg, with many crossing the €3.00/kg price mark.

The trade for store cattle remained lively also, with up to €3.40/kg paid for heifers and prices of €3.50/kg paid for for store bullocks.

Heifer prices from Carnew Mart:

828kg Charolais heifer sold for €2,300;
652kg Limousin heifer sold for €2,120;
566kg Limousin heifer sold for €1,760;
219kg Limousin heifer sold for €640;
300kg Belgian Blue heifer sold for €840.

Beef and forward bullocks met a very strong trade, with as high as €2,190 paid for a 690kg bullock.

Bullock prices from Carnew Mart:

750kg Charolais bullock sold for €2,190;
698kg Charolais bullock sold for €2,180;
602kg Limousin bullock sold for €2,010;
620kg Angus bullock sold for €2,000;
294kg Limousin bullock sold for €1,054.

Bulls were scarcer than previous weeks which resulted in a demand increase amongst buyers with up to €3.60/kg given for shipping bulls, however, heavier farmer bulls were all hitting across €3.00/kg.

Bull prices from Carnew Mart:

Four Limousin bulls with an average weight of 232Kg sold for €800 each;
Aubrac bull weighing 570kg sold for 570Kg €1,650;
Limousin bull weighing 414kg sold for €1,260.

The cows on offer in the suckler sale sold for up to €2,500 for quality cows with calves at foot.

The younger cows with softer calves carrying five stars were in very strong demand. Cows with calves at foot sold mainly sold between €1,960 and €2,500. Springing cows sold between €1,650 and €2,000.

There were a small number of pedigree stock bulls on offer sold to the tops of €3,000.