The beef trade has kicked on significantly this week, with some factories lifting quotes by 20c/kg to get cattle.

Heifers have moved to a base quote of €6.80/kg in some locations, up from €6.60/kg last week.

Bullocks have also moved on, with €6.60/kg to €6.70/kg base price now available for bullocks.

Some of the smaller independent factories have been driving the trade in the last few days, upping quotes beyond what some of the bigger factories are able to offer.

Flat prices are also back in vogue this week, with processors offering flat prices of as high as €7.15/kg to secure supplies.

Flat prices are also more common this week for overage cattle and loads of cattle that contain some over-30-month bullocks and heifers.

Finished cattle supplies remain very tight with agents very active in marts over the last number of days.

This has seen a lift in the trade of forward store cattle with larger feeders stocking up for the Christmas trade in November.

Traditional breeds are also in good demand, with a 20c/kg bonus generally being paid on in-spec cattle.

Bulls

Bulls are also solid this week, with under-24-month U grading bulls coming in at €6.60/kg to €6.70/kg, with R grading bulls being bought at €6.50/kg to €6.60/kg.

Under-16-month bulls are working off a base price of €6.40/kg to €6.50/kg, but numbers are very small.

Cows

The cow trade hasn’t moved much this week either, with €6.50/kg available for well-fleshed R grading cows. U grading cows have firmed up a little, with €6.60/kg now on the table for well-fleshed heavy U grading cows.

The mart continues to be the place of choice for many smaller suckler farmers to offload cows, with factory agents going above what is available in factories when buying cows in marts.

O grading cows are working off a quote of €6.20/kg to €6.30/kg this week, with P+3 cows coming in at €5.90/kg to €6/kg, depending on weight and flesh cover.