The mart trade has hit new heights this week, with factory agents back out in force competing strongly for heavy cattle for further feeding and for direct slaughter.

The fact that the weekly kill of cattle has dropped below 24,000 head has injected some urgency into the mart trade this week.

The weekly kill is now almost 10,000 head behind the same week in 2024 and factories are desperate for cattle.

This has pushed them back into marts where a lot of smaller finishers are now going with their finished cattle.

Dry cows lifted €200/head on last week in some marts, with some big battles taking place between rival agents both ringside and online.

Exports

Exporters also continue to be very active around weanling rings. Speaking to a few exporters this week, they remain very positive about the back-end of 2025, with big demand continuing to come from Spain and Italy in particular.

There also seems to be a little more hope in keeping exports open should bluetongue reach our shores. Animals are moving in France to other countries, provided they have completed the required tests and quarantine restrictions.

This obviously adds more cost to the sale, but the fact that exports are going holds out hope that Ireland could look for the same criteria.

Weanling exports are currently running 33% ahead of the 2024 figure and could go a lot more as we enter into the busy autumn period for weanling sales.

Confidence is also very high in the replacement heifer market, with some exceptional prices being paid for breeding heifers in marts this week.

A September 2023-born Limousin heifer weighing 555kg hit €4,300 (€7.75/kg) in Carrigallen Mart last Monday night.

Sucklers

Suckler cows and calves are also meeting good demand, with the top third of suckler cows coming in at €3,780/outfit this week on the Martbids database.

Mart managers are also reporting a lower number of dispersal sales compared with last year.

Selling weanlings for €2,000/head and over it could help steady the suckler decline.

The calf trade also remains very strong, with calf exporters very active despite lower numbers of calves coming out.

Dropped calves at three to four weeks of age continue to hit between €600 and €900 depending on weight, breed and quality.

Reared spring 2025-born calves continue to appear in higher numbers than pervious years, with €1,000/head and over it being paid for reared calves in some marts this week.

Taking a look at this week’s Martbids analysis table, we see another week of a table dominated by green arrows – always a good sign of the trade.

In the bullock rings, it was all positive, with all weight and quality categories showing an increase in the last seven days.

Top-quality store bullocks in the 400kg to 500kg weight bracket were up 25c/kg this week to €4.88/kg.

Heavy heifers saw a huge increase in demand this week, with top-quality heifers in the 600kg-plus weight category coming in at €4.92/kg this week, up 39c/kg on the previous week.