Located in the heart of Tyrone, Clogher Mart has been serving the local and wider farming community since 1954. It has earned a reputation as one of the leading livestock auctions in Northern Ireland, attracting livestock and customers from all over the province to its weekly cattle and sheep sales.
Clogher Mart has been owned and operated by Clogher Valley Livestock Producers Company Ltd since its inception. Committed to providing sellers and buyers with a fair platform, the mart comes alive every Thursday evening and every Saturday morning for the weekly sheep and cattle sales respectively. With over 1,500 sheep and a similar number of cattle on offer each week, and a team of experienced auctioneers on hand, Clogher Mart plays a prominent role in Northern Ireland’s agricultural economy.
“We sell between 1,500 and 2,000 sheep every Thursday evening,” Clogher Mart manager Robert Simpson explains.
“The sale starts at 7pm which works well because it suits a lot of part-time farmers. The sheep sold are fats, stores and breeding sheep. Saturday is cattle sales day. We sell all types of cattle, including bullocks, heifers, drop calves, cows, suckler cows, cull cows, breeding bulls and weanlings. We sell somewhere between 1,300 and 1,700 cattle every week.”
In addition, Clogher Mart hosts four weanling sales nights throughout the month of October and a Christmas beef cattle sale on the last Monday of November. For the mart to operate successfully, it needs both buyers and sellers. A steady supply of buyers gives the sellers’ confidence that there will be a certain level of demand for their product. Buyers are increasingly indicating that they want an animal with potential to finish as a top-class slaughter product.
Clogher Mart’s staff have been involved in cattle and sheep sales for many years. Its team of enthusiastic auctioneers, yardmen, drovers and office staff combine to ensure the smooth running of the sales. The Mart has three directors – Harrison Boyd, Edwin Boyd and Bryan Barnett – and employs four full-time staff. They are Robert Simpson, Lynda Domer, Julie Trimble and Alan Stockdale. A further 50 people are employed on a part-time basis.
With a capacity for 2,000 cattle, Clogher Mart has six sales rings, 12 loading bays and ample parking outside. Understanding that a mart is as much about the people as it is about the livestock, the Co. Tyrone mart also boasts an award-winning canteen which is run by Lorraine Allen and her team. The canteen offers customers a warm welcome and the opportunity to catch up with each other over freshly prepared breakfasts, lunches or snacks.
Easy to access from all parts of Northern Ireland thanks to its close proximity to the A4 Motorway, Clogher Mart uses Infoscience Auction Management Software which provides all the information buyers and sellers need to know, from the weight of the animal to its movement and test dates. Clogher Mart has also invested in online auction technology that enables it to offer live bidding facilities in five sales rings. This allows customers from far and wide to purchase livestock with the tap of a button.
“Our live sale ring streams are available to view on the MartBid App when an auction is in progress. Online bidding became very popular during Covid and we have 100 or more online bidders for our cattle sales.”
Health & Safety has always been taken seriously at Clogher Mart and never more so than in the wake of the pandemic, which posed huge challenges for the sector.
“We were closed for six or seven weeks following the Covid outbreak in March 2020. When we eventually reopened, we took all the preventive measures to protect our customers. We provided face masks, hand sanitiser stations, installed protective screens and even employed security personnel. We were also subjected to regular checks from the Health & Safety Executive.
“While all these measures were very costly, the safety and wellbeing of our customers was paramount.”
Clogher Mart has bounced back strongly from the pandemic with large entries of livestock selling for high prices.
“Stock numbers are back to where they were and are fetching near record prices,” Robert says.
“Bullocks and cows are making over £2,000 a head, so the value of stock has definitely gone up. Such prices give sellers the incentive to reinvest in more stock. There’s also a strong demand for finished cattle, but this winter will test a lot of farmers due to soaring energy and feed costs.
“Since the pandemic, a lot of sellers have preferred to drop off their cattle. As soon as their stock is sold, they receive a text with the lot number, weight and price. It allows them to do other things with their time.”
The affable mart manager concludes by saying: “Clogher Mart is renowned for the quality of its cattle and sheep. We are always happy to help and to ensure our customers have the best possible experience. We would like to take this opportunity to thank all the buyers and sellers who use our mart for their continued support.”
Clogher Valley Livestock Producers Company Ltd
Station Road,
Clogher,
Co. Tyrone,
BT76 OAH.
Telephone: 028 8554 8279 / 028 8554 8500
Email: [email protected]
Web: www.cloghermart.com
First published in Irish Tractor & Agri magazine Vol 10 No 6, November/December 2022
