Mart Price Tracker

Killed 3 serious bullocks a couple of years ago all a little over 500kg dead off grass and a good bit of meal for 8-10 weeks. U+ 3- and they killed out at 58%. Maybe they’d kill out better out of the shed but never had a bullock kill out 60%. Good bulls maybe. Maybe the scales is weighing a bit heavy or yours a bit light.

Scales here is accurate anyway. Best I ever had was 2 heifers that killed 62%. But then that would vary from factory to factory. There’s 4 factories around here and kill-outs would vary massively between them. Easily 6-8% of a variation from best to worst.

Now 5 cent a kilo extra is easily available in the worst one but that would be the dearest 5 cent a lad would ever get.

You only start learning all these things when you start weighing cattle in your own yard.

Mart weight could be anything from 5-8% less than fresh weight in the yard. A 750kg mart weight would easily have been 800kgs fresh weight. A 58% kill-out on 800kgs gives 464kgs dw. Divide that back into the 750kg mart weight and it’s almost 62% kill-out on the mart weight.

The lads buying these cattle in the marts are not stupid. They know their figures, they know what stock will kill out at and they know what to pay for them.

Would the lads buying them be allowed to kill them straight away no minimum residency in herd number I mean ??

@893bet that's exactly it, the lads buying them are on a days wage or some much ahead. They are told how many they have to buy & get as many as are needed. Base price doesn't matter to them.

Not a price issue as such. I sold livestock on April 12 in mart in the SE. I rang them after 2 week to see where the cheque was and they reissued me a new one. That never arrived. I rang last Friday to arrange payment over the phone and they never got back. Has this ever happened to others? The manager blamed An Post.

I agree with Bass. Sold cattle myself in Castleisland a couple of weeks ago on a Wednesday and had the cheque on the Friday or Monday. Can't remember which, but I thought it very quick.

Mart I'd imagine, bord bia bonus gone over 36 month, factory agent may cover it when he's buying her in the ring.

Thks.

2200 would be a great price if I got it, it would more than cover the lack of a calf from her after feeding her all winter

Assuming she is an R+ heifer she should gross about 1900-1950 in the factory. That is what you should remember if she goes to the mart. There is QA bonus as she is over 36 months. I am assuming a base price of 4.95/ kg and 6c extra on the grid for R+.

Depending on how you weighted her and how long she will be standing in the mart waiting to be sold actual mart weight will be 20-50 kgs lighter.

If she has a frame I be tempted to feed her on for another 6 weeks, she should put on 20+ kgs DW in that time.

At present she should hang 375-385 kgs. It all depends on her ability to carry weight. In six week she could go up 1-2 places on the grid.

Of her mart weight is 660/670 kgs she will not go much beyond 2 k if even that

Yes She's a big loose heifer and would easily put on another 50kg or more by the end of June. I'd like to get 2k+ as in my mind She's a typical butchers heifer with much better meat than what's in those cull cows making 2k+

An 800kg CH bullock over 40 months old made €2780 in Carnaross today i’m told.

This morning was the first time the bullock ever got meal in his life, a sorta going away treat. So much for the 30 month rule.

@memorystick get payment on the day after the sale, I know with Carnaross you can collect your cheque the day after you sell & if you don't it's in the next days post.

Talking to someone yesterday and his neighbour got 2900 for a cow in the mart recently.