There was just short of 500 weanling bulls penned at the annual weanling bull show and sale in Kilfenora Mart on Monday last, providing a great snapshot into the standard of suckler farming in the Burren region.
It was rare to find a calf that hadn’t a coat that was either red or a shade of golden yellow or white as 97% of the 496 bulls that went through the ring were sired by either a Charolais or a Limouisn bull.
A total of 278 had a Charolais sire while 204 were sired by a Limousin bull.
A valiant effort at the record
While it was always going to be a challenge to hit the record-breaking weanling prices of last year, this sale of mainly spring-born bulls made a good effort.
About 250 bulls weighed in at the 300kg to 400kg range and they averaged €5.37/kg. That would be an exceptional price most years but back over a euro on the same sale a year ago, when they changed hands for an average price of €6.43/kg.
The top third of bulls this week averaged €6.25/kg, back 91c/kg on the 2025 sale. At the other end of trade, the bottom third in that weight range were back 97c/kg compared to a year ago as they sold for an average of €4.67/kg.
The top third of bulls weighing from 200kg to 300kg averaged €6.66/kg, down from the peak of last September, when they averaged €7.95/kg.
Farmers drive clearance
There was a 92% clearance, with farmers very much to the fore when it came to buying, with shippers coming away with only 10% of what was on offer. Over two thirds of the bulls had a commercial beef value (CBV), with some surpassing €600,
Speaking after the sale, mart manager Martin McNamara said: “A super yard of, what you might call, farmers calves. They were predominantly Charolais with Limousins mixed in through it. Exporters are active to a point, and the specialised men for the bull beef job were here for the stronger calf.
"Trade has been good for weanlings. It picked up, especially for those around the 280kg to 330kg, he picked up €30 to €40 in the last fortnight, just because there is a few more farmers coming out for that kind of animal. We had one farmer buyer today who bought 105 animals at an average price of €5.82/kg.
"The shipping beast is still holding around the same, no great change but they’re not buying a heavy calf. They’re going for the ones between 320kg to 420kg, and after that you’re down to the bull beef finishers to buy heavier calves.”
SHARING OPTIONS