Tuesday’s weanling and suckler sale in Kilkenny Mart featured the full herd clearance of Kilkenny suckler farmer Pat Long.

The clearance, being made as part of a transition into dairy farming, featured 46 predominantly continental-cross cows, as well as the herd’s Charolais stock bull.

All 46 cows were scanned five- to seven-months in-calf to the aforementioned Charolais bull and a Limousin bull that was also in the herd.

This 2016-born Simmental-cross five-star cow, weighing 675kg and due to calve in late February, sold for €1,560.

This 2015-born Simmental-cross five-star cow, weighing 705kg and due to calve in late February, sold for €1,540.

This 2014-born Simmental-cross five-star cow, weighing 640kg and due to calve in early February, sold for €1,400.

Clearance

Farmer activity around the ring was good, with auctioneer George Candler having little difficulty securing buyers for the majority of what was on offer. All in all, a clearance rate of 96% was achieved, with all but two cows going unsold.

Commenting after the sale, mart manager Michael Lynch was pleased: “There was plenty of buyers around the ring so we were happy. The way things are with beef at the minute, there’s always a concern around the appetite for suckler cows. This is an excellent herd of cows and that was important.”

This 2015-born Simmental-cross five-star cow, weighing 770kg and due to calve in early February, sold for €1,620.

This 2010-born Limousin-cross two-star cow, weighing 760kg and due to calve in mid-February, sold for €1,160.

This 2011-born Angus-cross five-star cow, weighing 695kg and due to calve in January, sold for €1,200.

Prices

Overall, 44 cows sold to an average price of €1,206 per head, with the range being from €1,000 to a high of €1,620. This top price went to a 2015-born Simmental-cross five-star cow, due to calve in early February.

Twenty-one cows cleared the €1,300 mark, while only six cows went for less than €1,100.

Less than five years old, pure continental (mainly Simmental) genetics, due to calve in January or early-February and over 650kg liveweight were the common denominators between all cows that made the highest money.

This Hereford-cross five-star cow, weighing 670kg and due to calve in January, sold for €1,120.

This 2014-born Simmental-cross five-star cow, weighing 720kg and due to calve in late February, sold for €1,440.

This 2016 born, Simmental-cross, five-star cow, weighing 745kg and due to calve in mid-February, sold for €1,580.

This 2015-born Simmental-cross five-star cow, weighing 660kg and due to calve in January, sold for €1,460.

After going unsold in the ring, the 2014-born, four-star terminal Charolais stock bull sold for €1,500 after the sale.

Commission

For the suckler sale, commission to the buyer was €16/head and to the seller it was €17/head.

This 2011-born Limousin-cross, four-star cow, weighing 595kg and due to calve in mid-March, sold for €1,000.

This 2011-born Limousin-cross, four-star cow, weighing 655kg and due to calve in January, sold for €1,360.

Analysis for this report was generated from the MartBids app. MartBids is a collaboration between the Irish Farmers Journal and livestock marts. The app is available for download on iPhone or Android on the App Store or Google Play. With this app, all of the information that is displayed on the mart board is now available on your smartphone, long before the animal enters the sales ring.