Some processors have moved to apply cuts to the beef trade this week. Some dropped quotes at the beginning of the week, while more waited until midweek to apply any cuts.

The cuts don’t appear to be across the board, with some regular suppliers still on the same price as last week.

Other agents are being told to quote lower, but still have the leeway to go up 10c/kg when pressure is applied or farmers threaten to go elsewhere with the cattle.

Factories are targeting the smaller finishers with the lower quotes again, but this will likely just drive more to marts in the coming weeks.

The mart trade for finished cattle was generally unfazed this week, with only very small reductions – if any – for finished stock.

Any smaller finishers who have changed their route to market appear to be very happy with their mart returns compared with their factory returns.

The move comes after a number of weeks of threats from some on pulling price which failed to materialise, but the mood music appears to have changed on Monday morning, with some agents adopting a take-it-or-leave-it approach at the lower quotes.

These lower quotes are working off a base price of €7.40/kg, with €7.50/kg being quoted for heifers in the factories applying the most pressure.

There are a lot of processors still working off last week’s quotes at €7.50/kg for bullocks and €7.60/kg for heifers, with the usual added incentives available where numbers are involved.

Numbers of finished cattle remain very tight on the ground, with no great flush of cattle coming on stream in the next few weeks.

That said, some agents are reporting a few more cattle about for the next two weeks compared with the last month.

There is generally no pressure on farms to shift cattle at the moment, with an abundance of grass and fodder available as we head towards the winter months.

Factories are actively courting feeders for supplies of cattle right into 2026 and there has obviously been deals done on the back of what finishers are paying for store cattle.

Cows

The cow trade hasn’t escaped the price pressure, with some factories also back 10c/kg for cows for Monday morning’s quotes.

There appears to be more leeway with cows though, with many standing on with last week’s quotes, especially where numbers are involved.

R grading cows are generally trading at €7.40/kg to €7.50/kg, while O grading cows are coming in around €7.10/kg to €7.20/kg.

P grading cows are back to €6.90/kg in some locations, but €7/kg is available, especially where numbers are involved. Back-to-school dinners have increased the manufacturing trade and prices remaining stable.

Bulls

Up to €7.80/kg is still available at the top end for U grading bulls where numbers are involved, working back to €7.40/kg to €7.50/kg for O grades.

The national weekly kill remains stuck at just over 26,000 head. There was just under 10,00 extra bullocks killed last week, but the bull kill dropped another 300 head with just over 1,000 young bulls killed last week.

The cow kill remains steady at just over 5,000 head last week. The heifer kill is also stable at around 7,300 heifers.

Across the water in Britain, prices are under a little pressure this week, with some processors back 2p to 3p/kg on the week before.

Beef consumption continues to be under some pressure in Britain, with beef consumption down 7.5% since May 2025 on the back of prices going up by 10%.

R4L bullocks are coming in at 643p (€7.77/kg) incl VAT last week. Heifers are coming in at 640p/kg (€7.73/kg including VAT). Number of finished cattle coming to market remain very tight across the water.