The beef trade remains in a steady position this week, with base quotes starting off at a similar level to where they left off last week.

Bullocks are working off a base price of €7.00/kg to €7.10/kg, with heifers working off a base price of €7.10/kg to €7.20/kg.

Some processors are trying to hold at the lower end of quotes this week, with the top end of quotes a little harder to achieve this week.

There were some processors who signalled towards the end of last week that quotes would be lower this week, but this hasn’t materialised and farmers are advised to sell hard in the next few weeks as supplies look set to tighten further.

Breed bonuses of between 15c/kg and 20c/kg remain on the table in most factories for in-spec Aberdeen Angus and Hereford bullocks and heifers.

Cows

The cow trade is also very steady, with R grading cows being priced at €6.80/kg to €6.90/kg.

U grading cows are still trading at €7.00/kg to €7.10/kg, while O grading cows are being bought for €6.60/kg to €6.70/kg. P+3 cows are coming in at €6.30/kg to €6.40/kg.

Bulls

Bulls have probably held the best out of all categories of stock, with R grading bulls still coming in at €7.30/kg and U grading bulls at €7.40/kg.

Specialised bull finishers have been able to squeeze a little more out of some processors.

Under-16-month bulls are working off a €7.00/kg to €7.10/kg base price to go on the grid.