Camera at the Mart: buoyant trade for beef cattle in Clogher

The beef trade has eased a little in Northern Ireland over the past two weeks, but it hasn’t stopped factory agents from keeping their hand in the ring when it comes to fat cattle being shown in marts.

Clogher Mart had a big show of cattle last Saturday for an end-of-May sale, with 1,012 cattle moving through four rings.

Similar to southern Ireland, numbers have remained strong all spring, with farmers capitalising on better prices and choosing to offload earlier than normal.

Fat cattle were the highlight of Saturday’s trade, with a July 2021-born Limousin cow weighing 820kg selling for £3,509 (€4,128).

Dry cows were generally trading from £3.50/kg to £4.00/kg (€4.11/kg to €4.70/kg) depending on weight, age and quality.

Prime cattle were also in big demand, with £4/kg (€4.70/kg) being paid for heavy cattle fit for slaughter. Heifers hit £5/kg (€5.88/kg) for some fancy Belgian Blue types.

Breeding stock were also in big demand, with some big money paid for a number of top-quality suckler cow-and-calf outfits.

A top price of £4,010 (€4,718) was paid for a February 2022 born roan Limousin cow with her one-month-old red Limousin heifer calf at foot.

This was followed by a January 2023-born Limousin cow selling with her two-month-old Limousin calf at foot for £3,920 (€4,611).

Clogher Mart manager Robert Simpson said: “Cull cows continue to be a very good trade, so we have customers selling cull cows in one ring and then buying back in our suckler ring.

“When you are getting over £3,000 for cull cows, £4,000 doesn’t seem that much to replace her with a cow and calf at foot.”

Suck calves met exceptional demand at Saturday’s sale, with Charoalais heifer calves under two months of age hitting £1,250 (€1,470). Reared bull calves hit a top of £1,650 (€1,941) for suckler types, with reared heifer calves hitting a high of £1,600 (€1,882).

Robert described Saturday’s sale as very solid, with lots of customers for forward stores and factory fit cattle.

“Finished cattle numbers are tight in Northern Ireland and that means factory agents are eager to source stock in marts.

“There is a lot of confidence in the market, despite quotes coming back in the last few weeks. The mart is till the place to sell, especially if you have smaller numbers or you’re not sure if you have the required level of finish on your cattle.”