With the first of the spring calves hitting the ground this month, farmers may be thinking of selling on some stock, but what are dairy animals making in the mart?

Carnew Mart held its opening dairy sale of the year on Thursday (January 15), with more than 50 head of stock making their way through the ring.

Prices are back slightly on the backend of last year, but trade still remained relatively strong.

Mart manager and auctioneer, David Quinn kicked off the dairy sale with some mature freshly calved cows, with a late December calving Friesian in her fourth lactation making the top dollar of €2,260.

Overall, the freshly calved cows averaged €1,985, with a low of €1,600.

In-calf heifers

Following the fresh calvers came a fine selection of in-calf heifers making an average of €1,570 per head.

The top seller was a Friesian heifer due to calve down in March with an Angus, who went under the hammer for €1,900.

Meanwhile the lowest price paid in the ring was €1,300 for a Friesian heifer due to calve down with an Angus in February.

The mart finished off with a consignment of 20 pedigree bulling heifers weighing between 300-400kg which Quinn described as "ideal for autumn calving".

The autumn-2024 heifers sold for an average of €1,280, with a high of €1,400.

Carnew is now preparing for its first dispersal sale of the year, which is due to take place on Tuesday (January 20), with 120 dairy animals to go under the hammer.

Kilkenny Mart

Kilkenny Livestock Co-op Mart also held its first dairy sale of the year last Monday (January 12).

Freshly calved Friesian cows and heifers made between €1,400 and €2,250 in the ring on the day.

Meanwhile, in-calf Friesian heifers went under the ring for anywhere between €1,350 and €1,700 per head.

Auctioneer George Candler commented on the sale, saying: "The drop in the milk price has knocked some confidence out of potential dairy buyers but they should also appreciate that cull cow prices have remained stable, as have calf prices, so it is not all gloom and doom."

Candler said said in-calf Friesian heifers would have made €150-€200 per head more if they were not in calf on the day.