‘Early Spring’ boosts cattle prices
THE mild Winter allied to the early spurt of grass growth and a plentiful supply of silage have been cited as the main reasons for a resurgence in cattle prices at West of Ireland marts since the beginning of the month
While prices at the factories have remained largely unchanged over the past few weeks, marts have reported a very lively trade for cattle across the board since early February.
Alan Barry, Manager of Athenry Mart, told the Farming Tribune, that for the past three weeks, the cattle trade had really picked up ‘across the board’ and expecially so for the lighter stores in the 400 to 500kg weight brackets.
“The lift has also been very noticeable for the plainer Friesian type cattle coming into the ring. A month ago they were struggling to make a Euro per kg. but now they’re in strong demand again.
“We are also seeing a fair bit of activity from the feedlot buyers – mainly for the 500kg+ cattle – who want to finish those animals through the Summer: so overall it’s been a very vibrant few weeks around the ring,” said Alan Barry.
He said that the number of cattle being offered for sale at the marts was small enough, which in its own way was also fuelling demand, from farmers anxious to buy cattle for the Spring grass.
“I think that what we are seeing here in Galway and the West of Ireland are farmers who got a lot of silage last backend and they’re deciding to ‘feed on’ and use it up through the Spring.
“Overall, it looks as if farmers who kept cattle over the Winter and fed them will get a decent price for them and that’s only fair too. The mood is a lot more positive now than it had been a month ago,” said Alan Barry.
For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.
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