Last week was the first week where we saw numbers take a big drop since the beginning of the year.

Factory agents are reporting that finished cattle are becoming increasingly hard to come by, with marts now also very quiet for heavy slaughter-fit cattle.

Agents are a lot easier talked to this week, with many issued with strict instructions not to lose any cattle in the next few weeks.

Some poaching has also occurred this week, where some factories were slow in killing cattle and they ended up losing them to another player.

Quotes for bullocks continue to hover around the €5.20/kg to €5.25/kg mark, with a lot more bullocks bought at €5.25/kg this week.

Heifer quotes have also improved, with a lot more agents quoting €5.30/kg this week.

The best base price I heard this week was €5.40/kg for a big load of continental heavy heifers.

Factories are pulling big numbers from larger feeders and their own feedlots to shore up supplies.

There was 37,000 cattle killed out of controlled finished units in January, a record high and up 8,500 head on January 2022.

These cattle made up almost 30% of the national kill in January 2023 and numbers are expected to rise further in March and April.

Young bulls

The top price in the young bull market is still coming in at €5.40/kg to €5.50/kg for U grading bulls, with €5.30/kg to €5.40/kg on the table for well-fleshed R grading bulls.

P and O grading bulls are being bought at €5.00/kg to €5.10/kg and €5.10/kg to €5.20/kg.

Under-16-month bulls are being bought at €5.20/kg to €5.30/kg base price on the grid.

There is a huge variation in prices being quoted for older stock bulls,with some factories quoting as low as €3.50/kg, while others are quoting up to €4.50/kg for well-fleshed heavy bulls.

Cows

Cows are still in huge demand, with sales of manufacturing beef still going really strong.

Smaller wholesalers are driving the mart trade at the moment and that’s still the best place to go if you have small numbers of cows.

P+3 cows are working off €4.60/kg, with O grading cows coming in at €4.70/kg to €4.80/kg.

R grading cows are generally being quoted at €4.90/kg to €5.00/kg, with U grading cows now moving at €5.10/kg to €5.20/kg.

Beef prices across the water took another jump last week, with all categories of stock up in price. R4L heifers are coming in at £5.02/kg (€6.08/kg incl VAT) this week.

Last week’s kill came in at 31,701 head, the lowest kill for a full week in 2023 so far.

The kill for the corresponding week in 2022 was 34,971 head.

There have been 334,548 cattle slaughtered so far in 2023, which is 6,152 head lower than the corresponding period in 2022.

The reduction represents a 1.8% drop for the first nine weeks of 2023, but these numbers are expected to tighten further, with Bord Bia forecasting a 5% to 6% drop for the first six months of 2023.

Factories are already trying to manage things by dropping killing days and this week’s four-day week will help. Finishers need to grasp the opportunity when it arises.

NI comment

Factory quotes on prime cattle and cull cows have moved upwards by 4p/kg, putting U-3 steers and heifers on 470p/kg (€5.56/kg inc VAT).

However, most deals are generally around the 484p to 486p/kg mark (€5.73 to €5.76p/kg).

Higher prices are reserved for regular finishers and butcher-type heifers. Cull cows are on a quote of 386p/kg (€4.57/kg) for R3 animals, but this bears no resemblance to the deals on offer, which start around 410p/kg (€4.85/kg).