Dairy stock reaches £2,550 at Markethill Mart
A Rathfriland farmer sold the top-priced calved heifer for £2,550 at the Markethill sale. The same owner received £2,950 for another calved heifer, while a Markethill farmer sold three at £3,280, £3,260 and £3,000. A Keady producer also achieved £3,000.
Seven calved heifers from a Whitecross farmer sold at up to £2,920, with further prices of £2,500, £2,480 and £2,460 recorded. A Newtownhamilton farmer’s Norwegian Red heifers, recently inseminated with Aberdeen Angus semen, made £1,660, £1,480, £1,460 twice and £1,440. A Dungannon farmer sold two calved heifers for £3,000 and £2,500.
The 60 cull cows met what the market report described as steady demand. Beef-bred cows reached £295 per 100kg, with a 726kg animal from a Newry farmer making £2,140 and a 740kg cow from a Loughgall producer making £2,090 at £282 per 100kg. Most beef-bred cows traded between £260 and £279 per 100kg.
Dairy-bred cull cows sold to £229 per 100kg. A Dromara farmer’s 856kg cow made £1,960, followed by £1,370 for a 600kg animal from a Portadown farmer at £228 per 100kg. Other reported sales included £1,620 for a 712kg cow from Newtownhamilton, £1,520 for a 672kg cow from Loughinisland, and £1,340 and £1,200 for Armagh cattle weighing 612kg and 558kg. Second-quality Friesians made between £180 and £205 per 100kg.
Bulls sold for up to £2,460, or £298 per 100kg, for an 820kg animal. A 1,120kg bull from a Markethill farmer made £3,000 at £267 per 100kg. In the clean-cattle section, young bulls reached £353 per 100kg: a 640kg animal sold for £2,280. Further Cullyhanna cattle made £2,070 for 600kg at £345 per 100kg, £2,090 for 620kg at £337, and £2,000 for 612kg at £327.
The calf ring contained 110 lots and was reported to have steady demand. Bull calves under eight weeks old sold for up to £730 for a Whitehead, followed by £670 for a Belgian Blue. Other good-quality bulls ranged from £550 to £630. Friesian bull calves reached £390, with further sales at £380, £360 and £350; the main range was £260 to £340.
Heifer calves sold at up to £650 for a Whitehead and £580 for an Aberdeen Angus, while good-quality heifers generally made £440 to £550. Reared calves reached £1,280 for an Aberdeen Angus bull calf from a Newtownhamilton farmer; the same owner also sold animals for £1,200 and £1,070. Several other reared calves changed hands between £870 and £1,070.
