There has been a slight improvement in quotes over the last week, but any gains have been hard won, with factories reluctant to improve quotes by any big margin.

While some factories were paying €4.35/kg for heifers last week, a lot more have come up to that level this week, with €4.35/kg now the standard base quote for heifers across the country.

Bullocks have been a little slower to increase, with some factories dragging their feet and sticking to €4.25/kg, while more have had to move to €4.30/kg to secure supplies.

Some have also bought mixed loads of bullocks and heifers at €4.35/kg just to get the heifers.

Foyle Meats, Donegal, remains top of the league at its quote of €4.40/kg for bullocks killing out between 300kg and 400kg and €4.45/kg for heifers killing out between 300kg and 400kg.

Factories appear to be more anxious to hammer out flat deals this week rather than increase base prices.

This is especially evident in the traditional breed market, with flat prices of as high €4.75/kg for O grading cattle paid this week to a few large suppliers.

The general run of Aberdeen Angus bonuses are running from 20c to 25c/kg, while Hereford bonuses are coming in at 10c to 15c/kg.

Cow price

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

O grading cows are coming in at €3.70/kg to €3.75/kg. Better suckler O grades are pushing into €3.80/kg if part of a load.

P+3 cows are being quoted at €3.60/kg to €3.70/kg, with lighter cows lacking flesh coming in at around €3.50/kg.

Top-quality heavy cows (over 800kg) are making the equivalent of €4.30/kg to €4.40/kg in marts, with a lot of agents competing for suitable factory-fit cows.

Bulls have seen a slight improvement on the week, with a number of factories now paying out at €4.40/kg for under-24-month U grading bulls, with €4.30/kg on the table for R grading bulls.

Plainer dairy-bred bulls are also a little easier sold this week, with O grading bulls coming in at €4.15/kg to €4.20/kg. Under-16-month bulls are still working off €4.25/kg on the grid.

Last week’s kill came in at 32,435 head, on a par with the same week in 2021. The young bull kill has started strongly, with just under 4,000 young bulls killed last week, up almost 1,000 on the same week in 2021.

The slight improvement in quotes comes as the UK saw its December kill of cattle drop 9% when compared with December 2020.

According to the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board, UK beef production finished 5% lower in terms of tonnes produced for 2021 compared with 2020.

This is a positive for Irish beef sales and will continue to be for the next few months, as production in the UK isn’t expected to recover to a great extent in 2022.

IFA livestock chair Brendan Golden said: “Factories are anxious for cattle and farmers with stock on hand should sell hard.”

NI comment

There is no change in the cattle trade north of the border.

Base quotes are holding at 394p/kg (€5/kg inc VAT) for U-3 grading animals, although this is well below the prices being paid for prime cattle.

Steers and heifers are mostly moving off farm between 406p and 410p/kg (€5.16 to €5.21/kg), with higher prices reserved for specialist finishers.

Price deals for young bulls are harder to come by, with some plants sticking rigidly to base quotes, while others will pay above 400p/kg (€5.08/kg) for in-spec animals.

There is more life in the cow trade, despite base prices sticking at 290p/kg (€3.68/kg) for R3 animals, as deals are closer to 320p/kg (€4.06/kg).