Castlerea Mart in Co. Roscommon held its weekly cattle trade on Thursday (August 20), with numbers up marginally as the cattle trade remained firm and stores saw minor increases.

The store trade saw the best of it, as the mart saw more farmers than previous weeks looking to secure young stock cattle.

The top call in the beef ring went to a forward store Limousin bullock weighing 690kg that sold for €2,820 at €4.09/kg.

Other sales from the forward store and beef bullock section included a 615kg Limousin bullock that sold for €2,300 at €3.74/kg, and a 600kg Angus bullock that sold for €2,030 at €3.38/kg.

The store ring saw stronger prices on average with cattle breaking €4.00/kg regularly.

Below are some sample prices from the store bullocks sale:

A 460kg Charolais bullock sold for €2,220 at 4.83/kg;
A 460kg Charolais bullock sold for €2,170 at €4.72/kg;
A 495kg Hereford bullock sold for €1,830 at €3.70/kg;
A 545kg Limousin bullock sold for €2,490 at €4.57/kg;
A 505kg Limousin bullock sold for €2,360 at €4.67/kg.

The heifer ring saw a similar trade, with the top call of €2,890 for a 525kg Saler-cross heifer at €5.50/kg.

Some other notable prices from the sale include:

A 485kg Limousin heifer sold for €1,990 at €4.10/kg;
A 385kg Charolais heifer sold for €1,770 at €4.60/kg;
A 650kg Charolais heifer sold for €2,690 at €4.14/kg;
A 525kg Charolais heifer sold for €2,040 at €3.89/kg.

Cows with calves at foot made up to €3,820 with springers fetching up to €2,700.

Calves made from €290-€760/head, while runners made up to €1,660/head.

The dry cow sale saw an excellent clearance rate, with the top call the €3,120 paid for a Charolais cow weighing 930kg sold for €3.35/kg.

Other sample prices from the cow sale include:

A 800kg Simmental cow sold for €2,860 at €3.58/kg;
A 670kg Limousin cow sold for €2,700 at €4.03/kg;
A 595kg Limousin cow sold for €1,940 at €3.26/kg.

The weanling sale continues to see high prices driven by strong demand.

The top sale in the weanling bull sale was the €6.23/kg paid for a 350kg Belgian Blue-cross sold for €2,180.

Other sales from the weanling bull ring included the 290kg Charolais bull sold for €1,680 at €5.79/kg. Another 360kg Limousin bull sold for €2,130 at €5.92/kg.

The top call in the weanling heifer sale was the 230kg Charolais heifer sold for €1,380 at €6.00/kg.

Some other sales from the weanling heifer sale include:

A 340kg Limousin heifer made €1,720 at €5.06/kg;
A 325kg Limousin heifer sold for €1,490 at €4.58/kg;
A 290kg Limousin cross heifer sold for €1,420 at €4.90/kg.

The next general cattle sale in Castlerea Mart will be on Thursday, August 27.