Bullocks retain the biggest demand, with base prices continuing to hover around the €6.70/kg to €6.80/kg mark.

Heifers are also being sought, with up to €6.90/kg base price being paid in some factories this week.

Most heifers are being bought at a base price of €6.80/kg.

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Farmers are being advised to sell hard, with an extra 10c to 20c/kg going above the initial quote in many cases.

There was some talk at the end of the last week that some factories were going to try to pull quotes, but that didn’t materialise.

Flat prices as high as €7.20/kg are being paid for mixes of underage and over-age cattle, with no issues on weights in most locations.

In-spec Aberdeen Angus bulls and heifers are also in demand, with €7.20/kg flat price available for mixes of bullocks and heifers.

There continues to be a 20c/kg bonus available on top of base prices for in-spec Aberdeen Angus bullocks and heifers.

Big demand

The next four weeks are the busiest time for filling those orders and factory agents have been told to lose no cattle for the next few weeks.

Bulls are also solid this week, with under-24-month U grading bulls coming in at €6.80/kg to €7.00/kg, with R grading bulls being bought at €6.70/kg to €6.80/kg.

Under-16-month bulls are working off a base price of €6.60/kg to €6.70/kg.

The numbers of bulls being presented for slaughter remains small.

Stock bulls are also in demand, with as much as €5.90/kg being paid for heavy stock bulls by some factories this week.

U grading cows have firmed up, with €6.60/kg to €6.70/kg now on the table for well-fleshed heavy U grading cows.

O grading cows are working off a quote of €6.30/kg to €6.40/kg this week, with P+3 cows coming in at €6.10/kg to €6.20/kg, depending on weight and flesh cover.

Last week’s kill came in at 34,809, just a slight reduction on the previous week, demonstrating that the one-day strike action had very little impact on numbers.

Last week’s kill was almost 7,000 cattle ahead of the same week in 2025, with the strong kill over the last few weeks now closing the gap in the cattle kill to date in 2026 to just over 8,000 cattle lower than the same period in 2025.

IFA livestock chair Declan Hanrahan said: “Factory agents continue to be very anxious for cattle and, in many cases, have been paying 10c to 20c/kg above base quotes in order to secure supplies.

“Farmers are in the driving seat and should be pricing around for cattle and selling hard over the next few weeks.

“Our main markets are improving and factories need to reflect that in the prices being paid to farmers.”

Quotes across the water in Britain continue to improve this week, with another 5p to 8p/kg added last week, bringing beef quotes to over €8/kg.

In-spec bullocks and heifers are trading as high as £6.50/kg (€8.08/kg including VAT). Beef quotes have been consistently rising for the last month in the British market with stronger than anticipated demand from retailers driving the price increase.

British retailers have put in some big orders for Irish beef for in-store promotions in the run up to Christmas. The AHDB is reporting a small decline in food service demand over the 12-week period to 6 September, but burger sales increased by 3.3% during that period in the UK market.

It’s interesting to see the Uruguayan Aberdeen Angus Breeders Society participating in the SIAL conference in Paris this week. The Uruguayans see an opportunity in Europe with the Brazilian beef ban and sources say they were meeting customers all week.