Prime cattle remain in demand, with beef quotes starting off where they left off last week.

Heifers remain on top, with most factories now paying €4.45/kg when pushed. Bullocks are being bought at €4.30/kg to €4.35/kg, with 5c to 10c/kg more being paid for bigger loads.

Foyle Meats, Donegal, is still out in front with its quote of €4.55/kg for heifers and €4.45/kg for bulls.

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Flat prices of €5/kg have been paid this week to a few big suppliers to secure numbers of Aberdeen Angus stock.

Out in force

Factory feedlots have also been back out in force at marts this week stocking up on short-keep cattle.

Farmer feeders have also been very active, with a lot of competition for the 600+kg cattle in the bullock and heifer rings over the last few days.

Prices of €3/kg have been paid by a number of big feeders for heavy short-keep cattle. It’s understood that a number of these larger clients are working off a guaranteed price for April and May this year.

Cow price

A number of specialised cow operators are still very active to secure supplies, with €4.00/kg to €4.10/kg being paid for good R grading cows. U grading cows are trading at 10c/kg higher.

Some factories have quoted €4.00/kg for a mix of R and O grading suckler cows to secure a load.

O grading cows are coming in at €3.80/kg to €3.85/kg. Better suckler O grades are pushing into €3.90/kg if part of a load.

P+3 cows are being quoted at €3.75/kg to €3.80/kg.

Factory agents remain particularly active around mart rings sourcing heavy cows. A high number of cows moved north again last week for direct slaughter out of marts.

Bulls

Bulls are in demand, with a number of factories now paying €4.45/kg to €4.50/kg for under-24-month U grading bulls, with €4.35/kg to €4.40/kg being quoted for R grading bulls.

Some factories are paying €4.25/kg to €4.30/kg for mixtures of O and P black and white bulls.

Under-16-month bulls are working off €4.30/kg.

Low UK cattle kill

The UK cattle kill recorded its lowest ever kill for January. The cattle kill was 10% lower than January 2021 and marks the lowest kill on record of prime cattle.

The Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB), Bord Bia’s equivalent in the UK, is predicting that supplies will remain tight for the next couple of months, with no recovery expected until the second half of 2022.

This is good news for Irish suppliers and comes on the back of strong orders for Irish manufacturing beef at the beginning of 2022 as the food service trade swung back into action.