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The beef trade is characterised this week by continuing wet weather and continuing strong demand on export markets.
Rain has forced more farmers to offload fit cattle and saw relatively more of these booked in at a base price of €3.75/kg and fewer at €3.80/kg.
Prices are firmer in the east and south of the country.
The weather will ensure that this week’s factory kill will again be very high. Kill in each of the last two weeks was approximately 35,500.
Nonetheless, all of this beef is wanted. Factories are anxious to maintain this high level of throughput and buyers are very active in the market. Sterling is recovering against the euro, which helps.
Heifers
Base quotes for heifers vary from €3.85/kg to €3.90/kg.
Plainer P+3 cows are being quoted at €3.05/kg but up to €3.20/kg is being paid at the top of the market.
Meanwhile, Carnaross Mart identified and sold weanlings that have never received antibiotics or GM feed and were therefore eligible for Coop Italia beef at its sale on Tuesday night, its first time to do so.
The weanlings were identified in the ring by a second paper sticker on their backs and met good demand.
Healy and Creed talk
An IFA livestock delegation led by president Joe Healy met with Agriculture Minister Michael Creed on Wednesday. Healy highlighted the severe income and price pressure on cattle farmers.
No sector has been hit harder by Brexit than cattle farmers and this must be addressed in the budget, he told the minister.
He asked Creed to deliver an additional €50 per head suckler cow payment bolt-on to the BDGP for animal welfare and for progress on monitoring carcase trim and classification at the factories.
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