Dungannon farmers’ mart, Co. Tyrone, held its dairy sale last Thursday (February 18).
To get a bit of insight into the trade at the Co. Tyrone mart, AgriLand caught up with the auctioneer Michael Taaffe of Taaffe Auctions.
”The sale continued to see the strong trade we’ve seen so far in dairy sales this spring, with anything fresh and in milk in high demand,” Taaffe said.
The sale contained 136 lots put forward for sale on the day, with cows, heifers and bulls on offer.
The sale was split into three main categories:
- 98 freshly calved heifers and cows;
- 20 bulling heifers;
- 10 Holstein bulls fit for work.
The milking portion of the catalogue boasts daughters of top AI sires such as Helix, Josuper, Piston, Sound System, Lighthouse, ABS Midas, Rubicon, Firefly and Casper.
”We are seeing a very brisk dairy trade at the moment; top price of the day for the milking portion of the sale went to a freshly calved cow for 3,050gns [guineas],” Taaffe added. One gns is equivalent to £1.05 or €1.16.
”The bulls averaged 2,650gns, with top price of the day being 3,550gns.”
Prices on the day:
- Freshly calved heifers and cows ranged from: 1,500-3,050gns;
- Bulling heifers saw a top price of 1,400gns;
- Holstein bulls averaged 2,650gns.
Carnaross
Carnaross Mart, Co. Meath, held its dairy sale last Wednesday (February 17). Michael Taaffe of Taaffe Auctions was also the auctioneer for the sale.
The sale contained 85 lots put forward for sale on the day, with freshly calved cows and heifers on offer.
Entries were from top herds including Monamore, Ballyelan, Ballivor, Ballydoogan, Browelite, Laurelmore, Cornboro, Greenlea, Kildoo, Kilnacran, Beechlands, Knockmoules, Sunshine, Renville and Seafeild.
Michael commenting on the sale: “We had the top price three times at €2,550, with a 98% clearance. The sale was once again consistent with what we have seen in the back end of last year and into this year.
”This sale highlighted that the southern buyers are every bit as competitive as our northern buyers, other years they would have found it hard to compete for cattle, but that was not the case at this sale.”
Price range:
- Freshly calved heifers and cows €1,550-€2,550.
