€100,000 profit for ’Bridge Mart

A €300,000 investment by the farming fraternity, the price they had to stump up to acquire and reopen Sixmilebridge Co-operative Mart, is paying dividends with the mart turning a profit of €100,000 in its first five months of operation.

The profitability of the Sixmilebridge operation is based on the committed support of the farming community, not alone in the village but in the neighbouring parishes, buoyed also by the strength of the livestock trade at the moment.
The current wellbeing of the mart is in stark contract to the trading environment that prevailed when previous owners, Golden Vale Marts, closed the premises in December 2009, blaming a decline in animal throughput as the reason for its closure.
At the time, around 7,000 cattle were being sold annually and the new committee accepts that a minimum throughput of 10,000 animals from the weekly Saturday sales will be required if the takeover is to be a success.
The mart was farmer-driven when it first opened for business in 1973 and traded as Bunratty Farmers’ Export Mart.
Sold to Golden Vale Marts in 1986, it is now back in the control of the farmers. It was purchased and reopened last August after 600 locals purchased shareholdings of €500 each.
Secretary of the nine-man management board, Eddie Punch, believes the support for the Sixmilebridge operation is down to the policy of equal treatment for the farmers and the buyers.
“Farmers and dealers come here because they know they’ll get a fair price, whether they are buying or selling,” Mr Punch said.
However, he also accepted the mart is benefiting from the strong agricultural climate while they are also cashing in on the goodwill of people towards the co-operative approach to its operation.
“I’d be confident that the strong prices would continue for this year at least. That will be a help but we’re still reliant on the farmers continuing to support us by bringing the stock each week,” he added.
Mart manager Sean Ryan echoes those sentiments. “There’s no doubt that we’re benefiting from the strength in the trade in general at the moment. I’d say the trade is at least €200 a head up on this time last year,” he added.