A number of factories that were still trying to buy bullocks at €5.20/kg last week have had to amend their quotes upwards this week in order to get cattle.

Most bullocks are being bought at €5.25/kg this week. Heifers are moving at €5.30/kg, with higher quotes going to those with numbers.

Foyle Meats in Donegal is still top of the pile with its quote of €5.30/kg for bullocks killing out at 300-400kg and €5.35/kg for heifers killing out at 300-400kg.

There is still very good appetite for Aberdeen Angus bullocks and heifers, with a 30c/kg bonus on the table for in-spec cattle. Hereford cattle are also in demand, with bonuses of 10-15c/kg on the table for bullocks and heifers.

In light of dwindling supplies, some factories have dropped the number of days they are killing each week for the next few weeks.

Public holidays over Easter will see a number of days dropped in three to four weeks’ time, with some planned “down days” also in the mix for this week and next.

Increased energy costs mean factories need a certain level of cattle throughput to cover daily running costs or it doesn’t pay to open.

Young bulls

The top price in the young bull market is still coming in at €5.40-5.50/kg for U grades, with €5.30-5.40/kg on the table for well-fleshed R grades.

P and O grading bulls are being bought at €5.00-5.10/kg and €5.10-5.20/kg, respectively.

Bulls under 16 months old are being bought at €5.20-5.30/kg (the base price on the grid).

Foyle Meats has also increased the bonus being paid on under-16-month bulls to 16c/kg, a rise of 4c/kg, in a bid to lure more young bulls to the northwest.

Cows

P3 cows are working off €4.60/kg, with O grading cows coming in at €4.70-4.80/kg.

R grading cows are generally being quoted at €4.90-5.00/kg, with U grading cows now moving at €5.10-5.20/kg.

Kill numbers

Last week’s kill came in at 29,822 head when 2,866 calf slaughterings were taken out of the analysis. It was a four-day week but a lot of factories have now moved to a four-day week anyway in a bid to manage the kill.

Another record number of cattle were slaughtered out of controlled finishing units in February 2023, with 35,500 cattle coming from these units in four weeks. The number of cattle killed remains almost identical to 2022. Bord Bia had forecast a 5-6% decline in numbers for the first six months of the year so that’s a good sign for things to come, with numbers not likely to recover now until late summer.

Northern Ireland

Across the border, beef prices continue to strengthen, with agents hungry for cattle.

This, coupled with a tightness in numbers of finished cattle on farms and larger finishing units, has seen prices move up by 4-6p/kg last week. Agents have been paying £4.90/kg (€5.88/kg incl VAT)

IFA livestock chair Brendan Golden said: “The number of finished cattle out there continues to be very tight and farmers should bargain hard when selling cattle. This tightness in supply is expected to continue right into the summer months.”

Britain

Across the water in Britain, prices have also risen on the back of increased demand and tightening supplies.

R4L heifers broke the £5/kg (€6/kg incl VAT) barrier last week and prices are expected to kick on more this next week.

Manufacturing beef and mince sales are extremely strong, with some recovery also being seen in steak and roasting joint sales on the back of some supermarket promotions.