Cattle quotes

Quotes at the factories are mostly unchanged this week, except at one plant were they have come back 2p to 314p. But most are at 316p/kg for steers and heifers. This is on an all-in basis for in-specs, with the well-established range of penalties applying to out-of-spec cattle.

Agents maintain there are plenty of cattle coming forward at these prices. The kill last week of 8,075 was the largest in NI since late May, although still 1,200 short of the peak kills seen in the spring.

The prices paid last week for prime cattle were down nearly 3p/kg, with heifers at 318.4p/kg and steers at 309.7p/kg, the lowest average price for steers since mid-July 2012. The recent drops in price in NI are not reflected in the British trade, where prices have strengthened slightly.

Quotes for good grade R and O+ cows have come back 5p at one plant and are now in the range 245p to 250p/kg. Well-fleshed R grading cows last week averaged 265p/kg, down 3p/kg on the previous week.

Lamb quotes

With plenty of lambs available, the quotes for lambs at the factories this week have edged back by 5p and are at 350p/kg for FQAS to 21kg. The mart trade was also a bit easier. Kilrea had a show of 780 lambs selling from 306p to 342p/kg, down 12p for the heavier lambs. And 120 fat ewes sold to £91. In Massereene, there was a big trade and 1,126 lambs sold from 305p to 339p/kg, down 10p/kg. The main run was from 310p to 320p, with 21kg making £66 to £68 a head and 22kg making £69 to £71. Fat ewes were a good trade with the top making £94. Saintfield sold 804 lambs and they made from 306p to 355p/kg, down 4p/kg for heavier lambs. And fat ewes sold to a top price of £92.