The Irish Farmers Journal mart price calculator has seen 15,000 animal valuations over the past seven days, valuing over €15m worth of cattle.

The calculator which was built in response to farmers not having access to prices to sell or buy stock is being used by both buyers and sellers to purchase and sell stock. The calculator displays prices in the corresponding week for 2019 and the latest prices in 2020 up to 16 March.

The livestock team are currently looking at the calculations for this year’s prices to reflect the current fall in beef prices. The online calculator will be updated at the weekend to reflect these changes.

Steers are still the most popular type of animal being searched at the moment, with a big increase in heifer valuations in the last few days. Charolais is the number-one breed of animal being searched followed closely by Limousin. Most farmers are interested in prices for 400-500kg animals which would be suitable for summer grazing.

Marts

The Irish Farmers Journal have this week launched an interactive map detailing the trading status of each mart. The map shows that most marts are open to trading on a restricted basis.

The map can be accessed here:

This map will be updated on a daily basis showing the most up to date trading status of the mart. This ranges from a match making service where marts ring up sellers when they have potential buyers in place to buy stock.

A number of marts including Carnaross and Manorhamilton have trialled online bidding

All AIM movements are completed through the mart and the mart deals with the finances on both sides for the buyer and seller. Other marts are assembling calves in the mart and bringing in buyers on an individual basis to purchase calves.

A number of marts including Carnaross and Manorhamilton have trialled online bidding and these sales are scheduled to take place again next week.