Just short of 750 calves went through the ring in Bandon Mart for this week’s calf sale and shippers remained very active for calves at the west Cork venue.

Traditional beef breed-crosses continued their monopoly of the lairage as they accounted for three quarters of all calves on offer.

Prices followed a familiar pattern to recent weeks with most beef-cross calves from one-month-old to six-weeks of age and weighing close to or over 70kg were comfortably selling for in between €500 to €700 with some notable lots exceeding this price range. Bull calves had a slight edge in prices weren’t too far ahead of heifers.

A number of strong bull calves had opening bids of €600 before the gavel fell anywhere from €100 to €170 beyond the initial offer.

There were some exceptions to this with not all calves over or above the 70kg threshold hitting those higher range prices.

Thin on the ground

These were mainly a few that weren’t eligible for export and it showed how much farmers have drifted off from the calf trade in recent weeks while demand from continental markers continues at a steady pace.

Continental-crosses were very thin on the ground this week but traded along similar lines to Angus- and Hereford-crosses.

The general run of lighter calves between 50kg and 60kg and from Friesian dams tended to sell for between €200 to €400 with a few falling either side of that range. Included in that price bracket were traditional beef breed-crosses and Friesian bulls.

In pictures

This five-week=old Charolais-cross heifer with a CBV of €104 weighed 90kg and sold for €670.

This three-month-old Belgian Blue-cross with a CBV of €192 weighed 159kg and sold for €930.

This three-week-old Friesian bull weighed 73kg and sold for €370.

This five-week-old Hereford-cross heifer with a CBV of €103 weighed 51kg and sold for €200.

This five-week-old Hereford-cross bull with a CBV of €135 weighed 57kg and sold for €415.

This one-month-old Angus-cross bull weighed 83kg and sold for €765.

These five-week-old Angus-cross heifers with CBVs of €69 and €72 weighed 56kg and sold for €300.

This one-month-old Angus-cross bull calf weighed 75kg and sold for €440.

This five-week-old Angus-cross bull weighed 77kg and sold for €705.

This six-week-old Hereford-cross heifer weighed 75kg and sold for €465.

This five-week-old Angus-cross heifer weighed 81kg and sold for €680.

This three-week-old Angus-cross bull weighed 76kg and sold for €400.

This one-month-old Hereford-cross bull weighed 58kg and sold for €485.

These seven-week-old Angus-cross bulls weighed 87kg and sold for €585.

These two-month-old Angus-cross heifers weighed 75kg and sold for €430.

This five-week-old Hereford-cross bull weighed 71kg and sold for €540.

This five-week-old Hereford-cross bull weighed 58kg and sold for €460.

This six-week-old Friesian heifer with an EBI of €285 weighed 59kg and sold for €185.

This five-week-old Angus-cross bull weighed 59kg and sold for €520.

These five-week-old Hereford-cross bulls with CBVs ranging from €69 to €95 weighed 63kg and sold for €645.

These six-week-old Hereford-cross heifers with CBVs ranging from €82 to €102 weighed 63kg and sold for €360.

These three-month-old Angus-cross heifers with CBVs ranging from €82 to €102 weighed 82kg and sold for €575.

These three-month-old Belgian Blue-cross bulls with CBVs of €258 and €173 weighed 124kg and sold for €865.

These one-month-old Angus-cross heifers weighed 90kg and sold for €645.

This five-week-old Angus-cross bull weighed 76kg and sold for €660.

These one-month-old Angus-cross bulls with CBVs of €104 and €124 weighed 74kg and sold for €700.

These one-month-old Hereford-cross heifers weighed 67kg and sold for €360.

This one-month-old Hereford-cross bull weighed 71kg and sold for €625.

This one-month-old Hereford-cross heifer with a CBV of €87 weighed 57kg and sold for €320.