Heifers remain top of the quotes this week, with €3.80/kg generally being paid across the board.

There is some deviation from this, with €3.85/kg being paid to some larger suppliers to secure numbers and, on the other hand, €3.75/kg base is still being maintained by some processors who are less eager for cattle.

Bullocks are also a similar trade to last week, with €3.75kg base price generally being paid, with some factories holding firm on €3.70/kg.

There appears to be a lot more deals cropping up in recent weeks, with farmers with numbers in the driving seat and able to get leeway on haulage, weights and flat pricing in the last two weeks.

Young bulls are also a similar trade to last week, with €3.70/kg being paid for R grading bulls and €3.80/kg being paid for U grades.

O grading dairy-cross bulls are a little easier to shift this week, with €3.60/kg to €3.65/kg being paid to farmers. Again, there is very little mention of weight limits.

Cows

Cows are also still in demand, with R grading cows now trading at €3.30/kg to €3.40/kg. Some factories that specialise in the cow trade have paid €3.50/kg this week for top-quality U grading cows.

O grading cows are trading off €3.10/kg, with P grading cows back at €3.00/kg. As has been the case for the last few months, those with cows to sell should weigh up the options of slaughter versus a live sale.

In Elphin Mart on Monday night, good-quality heavy cows between 700kg and 800kg were hitting €2.00/kg, meaning these cows would have to be hitting close to €3.80/kg to make the same money in the factory. Do the sums.

Last week’s killed increased by 1,309 head to 35,758, up from 34,449 the previous week. The biggest increase was in the heifer kill, with an extra 612 killed last week. The cow kill went up by 589 head and the bullock kill went up by 264.

Most factories have a six-day kill planned this week and it’s likely that this week’s kill will increase further. However, factory agents are reporting finished cattle supplies to be very tight on the ground, with many looking to the bigger feeders to get numbers for the final two weeks of the year.

Stockpiling is still taking place. Depending on the individual cuts, beef from animals slaughtered from this week onwards could remain in chilled storage until late January.

UK

Across the water in the UK, kill numbers are down 3% for November, with 173,000 fewer cattle slaughtered during November compared with last year. With COVID cases rising and further lockdown in the UK inevitable, retail sales of beef are likely to spike again, which is good news for Irish processors supplying the UK retail market.

With regard to Brexit, everything hangs in the balance. The commitment by Minister for Agriculture Charlie McConalogue on page 1 should give farmers the confidence to market cattle as normal.

Northern comment

Base quotes for finished cattle in Northern Ireland have increased by 4p/kg at one plant and now stand at 370p/kg (€4.33/kg inc VAT) for U-3 grading animals.

Processing demand is rock solid and price deals are holding steady, with in-spec steers on 376p/kg (€4.40/kg), with heifers generally moving at 380p/kg (€4.45p/kg), with more on offer for regular finishers supplying bigger numbers.

Cull cows are also an improved trade, with quotes up 10p/kg to a base of 270p/kg (€3.16p/kg) for R3 grading animals.