Factories have tried to apply some pressure to this week’s trade, but most have failed in dropping quotes to any great extent.

Some agents threatened the move last week, but it hasn’t materialised.

Bullocks are working off a base quote of €7.00/kg to €7.10/kg, but the higher end of quotes are a little hard to come by this week. They are still there if farmers bargain hard enough.

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On the heifer side, it’s a similar story, with heifers working off a base price of €7.10/kg to €7.20/kg.

Heifers are in big demand, with the higher end of the range easier to get for heifers as opposed to bullocks.

Breed bonuses are still being paid at the rate of 15c to 20c/kg for in-spec Hereford and Aberdeen Angus bullocks and heifers, with some factories also offering a little higher bonuses for those with bigger numbers.

Cows

The cow trade is also very steady, with R grading cows being priced at €6.80/kg to €6.90/kg.

U grading cows are still trading at €7.00/kg to €7.10/kg, while O grading cows are being bought for €6.60/kg to €6.70/kg. P+3 cows are coming in at €6.30/kg to €6.40/kg.

Bulls

Bulls have probably held the best out of all categories of stock, with R grading bulls still coming in at €7.30/kg and U grading bulls at €7.40/kg.

Specialised bull finishers have been able to squeeze a little more out of some processors.

Under-16-month bulls are working off a €7.00/kg to €7.10/kg base price to go on the grid.

Last week’s kill came in at just over 31,000, up just over 800 head on the previous week.

There was very little change across the different stock categories, with both bullocks and heifers up over 500 head.

The cow kill was back 200 head and dropped under 7,000 for the first time in the last four weeks.

Despite the higher numbers, agents are still on the hunt for cattle, with some pointing to a shortage of finished cattle coming on stream in March.

Last week’s kill was back 8,000 head on the same week in 2025, with almost 40,000 fewer cattle killed so far in 2026.

Across the water in Britain, the trade has come under a little more pressure in the last two weeks, with quotes dropping 3p to 5p/kg.

Beef consumption remains under pressure in the UK, with the latest Worldpanel by Numerator UK figures for the week ending 25 January showing a 6.7% reduction in beef sales, which translates into 9,200 tonnes less beef sold.

Retail prices of beef are up 17.1% when compared with the same period in 2024/2025.

Mince sales saw one of the biggest declines, down 9.9% year on year.

Roasting joints and stewing cuts remained stable, driven by Christmas demand.

There is talk about some farmers delaying or postponing their quality assurance (QA) inspections on the back of the standoff between the IFA and Bord Bia.

While there is always scope for amending the time that the audit takes place, the consequences of not attaining QA status are greater than some people think.

It’s a requirement for SCEP and it states in the terms and conditions that the full SCEP money would have to be paid back if a participant falls out of the QA scheme.

Many of the breed bonuses, which can be as high as 30c/kg depending on the time of year, have also got a QA requirement attached to them.

The factory schemes also have a QA requirement attached to them, which can also deliver 10c to 20c/kg on top of base prices and breed bonuses. This means that QA could be worth 60c to 70c/kg which comes into €180 to €210/head. On a trailer load of five heifers, it’s around the €1,000 mark, so it’s important to keep that in mind.