Beef quotes continue to move in the right direction, with some factories having to move quotes up again this week to secure supplies.

Some of the smaller operators have had to increase heifer quotes to €5.15/kg and €5.20/kg to get sufficient numbers.

A price of €5.20/kg is still at the top of the market for the regular trader, but bigger operators have been able to squeeze more out of the market, with several loads of heifers being sold last week in excess of €5.20/kg base price.

Bullocks are moving at €5.05/kg to €5.10/kg in the main. Foyle Meats, Donegal, continues to pay a bonus of 10c/kg on top of the base price for 300kg to 400kg carcases.

Flat deals

Flat deals of as high as €5.60/kg are on the table this week for Aberdeen Angus heifers. Most agents are now paying 20c to 30c/kg bonus on Aberdeen Angus heifers, with 10c to 15c/kg being paid for Hereford heifers.

I have heard of a number of farmers getting the Angus bonus on Hereford heifers just to secure the load this week.

Prime cattle supplies remain very tight and factories are willing to pull out all the stops to get cattle.

Young bulls

The top price in the young bull market is €5.30/kg for U grading bulls, with €5.10/kg on the table for R grading bulls.

O and P grading bulls are being bought at €4.80/kg to €4.90/kg. Under-16-month bulls are being bought at €5.00/kg to €5.10/kg.

Factory agents are back waving hands around mart rings, with a number in attendance now at most sales around the country.

Central Auctions, Roscrea, had almost 1,000 cattle through the mart last Friday for its special sale of cows and heifers.

A number of northern buyers were in attendance, which put some life in the trade, with factory buyers paying in excess of what cattle are worth to kill to an ordinary trader on a number of occasions during the day.

Exceptional demand

Cows were in exceptional demand, with as much as €3/kg liveweight being paid for factory-fit cows. This translates into a beef price in excess of €5.20/kg, which is more than a lot of factories are willing to pay for cows this week.

P+3 are working off €4.20/kg to €4.30/kg, with O grading cows coming in at €4.40/kg to €4.50/kg.

R grading cows are generally being quoted at €4.60/kg to €4.70/kg, with U grading cows now moving to €4.80/kg to €4.90/kg.

Lots of deals are on the table to get good cows, with R grading cows being bought at U grading prices in some instances.

Flesh is important, with factory agents able to give a little more where cows are well covered.