Cattle quotes unchanged

Price quotes for cattle are generally unchanged. Base quotes for U-3 grade steers are mostly at 326 to 328p/kg with heifers at 328 to 330p/kg.

However, regular suppliers are generally working off a base of 336 to 340p/kg for top grades, with some larger finishers getting 360p/kg all-in.

For cattle in-spec, the bonus is 14p/kg, including 4p, in most cases, for cattle that have resided on a maximum of 4 farms.

Factory agents maintain there are still plenty of cattle about. One also commented that more cattle are now meeting basic specification requirements (4 residencies or less, FQAS, at least 30 days on last farm).

The trade in cattle for slaughter in and out of NI saw imports of 342 head last week from the south. 138 cattle went to the south for slaughter while 156 went across to Britain.

The prices paid for prime cattle last week were generally unchanged. Top grading heifers averaged over 350p/kg.

Quotes for good grade R and O+ cows are unchanged at 250p/kg.

Spring lambs

Factory quotes for spring lambs are back slightly to 500p/kg for FQAS to 21 kg deadweight or no quote, although the numbers coming for slaughter remain small. In Saintfield on Tuesday, 40 spring lambs sold to a top of 454p/kg halfweight.

Quotes for hoggets at the factories have also eased with 450p/kg on offer for FQAS hoggets to 22kg.

In Saintfield on Tuesday prices were back on the previous week with 304 hoggets selling from 380p to 430p/kg, with fat ewes to £90.