The beef trade has started off in a positive light for the first week of 2022.

Heifers are up 5c/kg since before Christmas, with most agents now quoting €4.35/kg for heifers.

There are some factories still applying pressure to hold quotes at €4.30/kg but they are coming under pressure this week to increase quotes to get cattle.

Bullocks have also moved to €4.25/kg to €4.30/kg in most factories.

Some factories have had more success in holding bullock quotes to €4.20/kg, with the higher quote being paid to those with numbers and regular suppliers.

Foyle Meats, Donegal, is still paying €4.45/kg for heifers killing out between 300kg and 400kg and €4.40/kg for bullocks killing out between 300kg and 400kg.

Bull quotes

Bull quotes have remained similar to pre-Christmas quotes, with €4.25/kg to €4.30/kg being paid for under-24-month bulls, with an extra 5c/kg to 10c/kg being paid for U grading bulls.

Bigger suppliers have better bargaining power and have been able to squeeze a little more out of the market in the last two weeks.

O grading bulls are working off €4.15/kg to €4.20/kg.

Good cow demand

Cows are also in good demand. Good R grading suckler cows are now up at €3.85/kg to €3.90/kg, with 10c/kg to 15c/kg more being paid for U grading cows.

P+3 cows are working off €3.50/kg to €3.60/kg, with heavier P grading cows coming into 340kg to 350kg carcase weight managing €3.65/kg.

O grading Friesian cows are coming in at €3.65/kg, while O grading suckler cows are able to squeeze €3.75/kg to €3.80/kg out of the market.

There is really good appetite for cows this week, with a strong demand for manufacturing beef underpinning the current cow trade.

A lot of marts not opening up until next week has also left procurement managers limited in supply options.

Last week’s kill came in at just over 20,000, which brings the total amount of animals slaughtered at 1.68 million, which is back between 80,000 and 90,000 on the 2020 kill.

Speaking to factory agents, there are some concerns that COVID-19 may affect kill days in the next few weeks, but, as of Tuesday, there are no huge issues in any factory.

Like every business, there are a number of factories with staff currently off sick or self-isolating because of close contacts.

Factories have procedures and protocols in place to avoid any disruption to the food chain, which includes shifting boning out to other locations or shifting cattle to be killed in other factories.

IFA livestock chair Brendan Golden said that Ireland’s main export markets for beef have performed very well over the Christmas period and that the trade must now kick on to pass down the increases to beef finishers.

The young bull kill was down by 9,926 head to 129,844. The bull kill was back by 6,258 head to 26,342 bulls killed in 2021.

Bullocks saw a decline of 18,143 head to 674,485, while the cow kill dropped by 11,281 cows to 354,474 killed in 2021.

The heifer kill saw the largest decline, with 38,661 fewer heifers slaughtered in 2021 compared with 2020.

Veal slaughtering was also back by close to 6,000 head in 2021.

Northern comment

There is little change to cattle prices in Northern Ireland, although factory agents are showing greater appetite for stock. Base quotes are sticking on 394p/kg (€5/kg inc VAT) for U-3 grading animals.

However, most deals for in-spec steers and heifers range from 406p to 410p/kg (€5.15 to €5.20/kg), with higher prices reserved for specialist finishers.

There are deals being made on transport and weight limits to offset higher prices. Cull cows remain on a base of 290p/kg (€3.68/kg), with deals of 320p/kg on offer (€4.06/kg).