The beef trade continues to move in the right direction this week, with quotes jumping a further 5c to 10c/kg this week.

That said, there is a big range in quotes and farmers need to be aware that once again the opening quote and the final quote willing to be paid are very different.

Bullocks are working off a base price of between €7.20/kg and €7.35/kg, with very few cattle being bought at €7.20/kg for the rest of this week.

Heifers are working off a base price of €7.30/kg, with a top quote of €7.50/kg reported for a load of continental heifers. That’s up 30c/kg on where the heifer price was three weeks ago.

Supplies of finished cattle remain very tight, with factory agents anxious for supplies.

Factories continue to work on reduced days each week, but even with that, some are still struggling to fill the days which they are choosing to kill on.

Cows

Up to €7.50/kg is back on the table for top-quality U grading cows, with €7.20/kg to €7.30/kg available for R grading cows.

Good-quality O grading suckler cows are coming in around €7.00/kg to €7.10/kg.

P+3 cows are coming in at €6.90/kg, with €7.00/kg paid for larger loads of fleshed dairy cows this week.

The mart is still the place to go if you have small numbers of cows to sell, with factory agents continuing to pay over and above what cows are worth in factories at the ringside.

Bulls

Up to €7.60/kg to €7.70/kg is available at the top end for U grading bulls where numbers are involved, working back to €7.25/kg to €7.30/kg for O grades.

Under-16-month-old bulls are working off a base price of €7.10/kg to €7.20/kg, with a little more going to those with numbers.