The mart trade has continued to rally for all weight specifications of cattle, with over €4,100 paid for a heavy bullock at Dowra Mart in Co. Cavan on Saturday, March 1.

There were almost 900 cattle sold at the March 1 sale at Dowra with what was described as "an exceptional yard of quality cattle" on offer, according to mart manager Terry McGovern.

He said: "There were some extraordinary prices paid for heavy lots in both rings in the most recent sale."

Bullocks topped out at €4,120 or €4.41/kg for a 935kg Charolais-cross bullock, while another Charolais-cross bullock weighing 815kg made €3,800.

In the dry cow sale at Dowra Mart, a Charolais cow weighing 895kg made €3,440 with 10 dry cows selling for over €3,000.

Other top prices in the sale included a 295kg Charolais heifer that made €1,580 while a 350kg Charolais heifer made €1,740.

A 490kg Simmental-cross heifer made €2,150 at the west Cavan Mart venue, while a heavier 645kg Charolais-cross heifer made €2,580.

In the weanling bull sale at Dowra Mart, a 460kg Charolais bull made €2,300 while a lighter 400kg Limousin bull made €1,940.

There were over 1,500 cattle sold at Balla Mart in Co. Mayo last week, with strong ‘feedlot type' heifers weighing over 550kg up in price by approximately €500/head on last year, according to mart manager Michael Nolan.

Plainer heifers were up by approximately €300/head on last year with "not as many fancy ones at the sale on Saturday, March 1, as they will be held for the special heifer breeding sale on the March 8," the mart manager said.

Commenting on the trade, Nolan said: "There were a large selection of quality, heavy bullocks and anything nice was making from €3.50-4.00/kg.

"Northern factory buyers were very active online and anything nice with flesh made a great price.

"There was a full clearance in the springers and only three of the dry cows were unsold," he added.

Bullocks in the 300-400kg weight category averaged €3.97/kg, while store bullocks weighing from 400-500kg averaged €3.81/kg. Heavier bullocks weighing over 500kg averaged €3.82/kg.

Some of the top prices included a Limousin-cross bullock born in June 2023 and weighing 390kg that made €1,850 or €4.74/kg, while a 485kg Charolais-cross made €2,240 or €4.62/kg. A top-spec Charolais bullock weighing 720kg made €2,730 or €3.79/kg. A lighter 260kg Charolais made €1,380 or €5.31/kg.

There were approximately 350 lots of heifers on offer in the sale, with the best of the lighter stores making over €4.50/kg.

Lighter store heifers weighing from 300-400kg averaged €3.87/kg while heifers weighing 400-500kg averaged €3.56/kg and heifers over 500kg averaged €3.89/kg.