Michael Lynch – Kilkenny Mart

Michael Lynch of Kilkenny Mart.

We have taken all of the precautionary measures that we can, so our intention is to continue to run our sales for as long as possible.

With the new regulations, I was a little worried some people could be thorny about it, but, in fairness, most of the buyers are all positive and understand the seriousness of the situation.

It’s strange to see some people up in the seats that they wouldn’t have even been up in

Indeed, it’s strange to see some people up in the seats that they wouldn’t have even been up in – they look a little uncomfortable not being able to lean in against someone else!

I would have said the trade was a little bit back last week alright. A good few people would have had a wait and see approach to the whole thing and without those around the ring, there was a drop in demand.

I’d say they should start coming back to the sales now when they hear it's going smoothly. At the end of the day, there are people that need to sell cattle and there are plenty of people who need to secure cattle for the grass this spring, especially with the time of the year and with grass starting to grow.

Martin McNamara – Clare Marts

Martin McNamara of Clare Marts.

We are fine-tuning the regulations every day in line with the protocols in an effort to stay open. We have big ringsides here and we aren’t letting any more than 50 buyers in, so the social distancing isn’t an issue.

On top of that, 95% of farmers are quite understanding too. Once they can get in to see their cattle sold and then move on again, they are happy.

We might be a critical service to some people, but, to most, we certainly are not

I suppose I have been thinking about the longer term and whether marts should stay open. We might be a critical service to some people, but, to most, we certainly are not.

I think the biggest problem is the lack of a time frame though. If it was just for two or three weeks, nobody would mind. But it’s the fact we don’t know how long this will go on for.

For the time being, the virus itself hasn’t affected trade. Bullocks were up last week and heifers were steady. Cows were back purely due to factory quotes and, by the looks of things with McDonald's closing, that trend could continue.

But, at the same time, I have lads ringing me to check are we still opening. The dry week last week and early signs of growth mean there is an appetite there for cattle for grass.

Michael Harty – Central Auctions Marts

Michael Harty of Central Auctions Marts.

We took the decision last Thursday to close indefinitely and there wasn’t one complaint from staff or from farmers. It’s going to get trickier and trickier for marts now.

When you see the level of hygiene in other places like restaurants and shops and even they are being forced to close, it begs the question how the marts could possibly stay open.

There was an eeriness and an emptiness around the ring

To be fair, our last sale was last Thursday in Nenagh and farmers followed the protocols 100%. There wasn’t a complaint from any of them either.

And the trade was fine last week also. Cattle were firm and, in fact calves, were probably up a small bit. Some farmers said they thought there wouldn’t be a calf sale for a while more and they bought a few.

But at the same time, it didn’t feel like a typical calf sale. There was an eeriness and an emptiness around the ring. People were genuinely nervous about the whole thing and you can’t blame them.

David Quinn – Carnew Mart

David Quinn of Carnew Mart.

So far, we haven’t had any comments from buyers or sellers saying that we should be closing. They’re quite happy with the job we are doing and how we are policing the various protocols.

We are being strict, but it’s in everyone’s best interest. And to be fair, around the ring, it’s not even hard to keep social distancing in place. It’s nearly all professional cattle buyers, buying for three and four farmers at a time. There are very few casual farmer buyers coming out now.

If we were to close fully, there would be serious implications for farmers

Of course, there are days you’d be wondering is it worth staying open for the stress and work that’s involved. Cattle numbers are also dropping a small bit and they will probably continue to as less and less people want to be out in public.

At the same time, if we were to close fully, there would be serious implications for farmers. Come the middle of April, lads will be extremely anxious to buy cattle for grass.

On the flip side, if people couldn’t sell cattle and feeding ran out and they hadn’t the capacity to graze them, there would be an unmerciful build-up of cattle very quickly.

We are very much working on a week-by-week basis and the way we see it, every week we stay open it’s 1,000 less cattle to be moved to the right place for the summer.

On prices, good-quality stores are a good trade but the plainer Angus and Hereford cattle are back about 10c/kg. Cows took a big fall two Saturdays ago, but managed to hold for last Saturday’s sale.

I suppose specialist finishers are getting it hard to kill cattle on the other end, so that’s feeding back to the live trade.