Cattle market

Lighter carcase weights, strong live export trade and a drop in slaughterings in Britain have contributed to provide very favourable market conditions for cattle at the moment. There is no backlog of beef in store and supplies of in-spec cattle on the ground are not meeting factory demand. Keep updated at www.ifa.ie.

Fuel price

IFA inputs chair John Coughlan has reported a reduction in the price of all fuel types surveyed in the most recent IFA quarterly survey, with agricultural diesel now priced at an average of 62c/l. He said, however, that the variation in prices, county to county, highlights the need for farmers to challenge fuel retailers when buying.

Grain

IFA president Joe Healy has called on the trade to support tillage farmers with strong grain and protein prices this harvest. The recent upturn in the market has to translate to increased prices; grain growers need a minimum base price of almost €145/t for barley, and close to €155/t for wheat this harvest.