Beef

A new breed record and an all-breeds Irish record of €52,000 (47,062) was set at the Simmental premier sale at Roscommon when Clonagh Lucky Explorer sold to the Wood family’s Popes herd, Preston.

A major new report could well form the basis of suckler cow management and support schemes for many years to come.

Beef from the dairy herd can be a profitable enterprise, provided the animals are managed to the highest possible standards from birth to finishing

Jane King will leave her role no later than September 2021

Simmental bulls sold to a 14,000gns high for Islavale, with the average up 411 on the year at 5,589 and a clearance rate of 64 per cent.

Limousin bulls sold to a 9,500gns high, to average 4,652, down 143 on the year, with a clearance rate up 5 per cent on 2019 at 70 per cent.

Ease and accessibility of virtual livestock sales has seen auction marts invest in digital technology in response to fluctuating Covid-19 restrictions.

Beef Shorthorn bulls met a 6,200gns high, selling to an average of 4,410, up 971 on the year and a clearance rate of 64 per cent.

Cammock Nova, a September-2018 born bull from Niall and Katy Blair, Kilry, led the trade in the Salers section.

Females in the Beef Shorthorn section soared a 15,000gns high, marking a new female breed record price for John Elliot, Kelso.