Factories continue to pour cold water on the beef trade this week, with some threatening to pull prices next week.

Some have even tried to lower quotes, but farmers are just moving to another factory if they aren’t getting what they want.

Bullocks are working off a €7.50/kg to €7.60/kg base price this week, with heifers working off a base price of €7.70/kg, with a little more going to larger feeders and those with numbers.

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Flat prices of as high as €8.00/kg are still on the table for in-spec Aberdeen Angus cattle, with a little more going where numbers are involved.

Some larger feeders are also able to squeeze €8/kg to €8.10/kg out of some factories for R grading continental stock on a flat price.

Cows

The cow trade remains very steady, with factory agents active for heavy, well-covered cows.

R grading cows are generally trading at €7.40/kg to €7.50/kg, while O grading cows are coming in around €7.20/kg to €7.30/kg.

Up to €7.65/kg has been paid for U grading cows this week. Larger finishers with big numbers of cows have been able to get 20c/kg more for well-finished cows.

There is a big range in quotes for P grading cows, with those with numbers able to bargain for more.

Up to €7.30/kg is back on the table for well-finished dairy cows, with the higher prices dependent on weight and flesh cover.

Bulls

The manufacturing trade is under big pressure for beef and that has lifted cow quotes, along with bull quotes.

Up to €7.90/kg to €8.00/kg is now available at the top end for U grading bulls where numbers are involved, working back to €7.50/kg to €7.56/kg for O grading bulls.

Farmers with good numbers of R grading bulls have been able to get U prices this week, with higher quotes being paid to feeders dealing with bigger numbers

Last week’s kill came in at 26,268, which was up just over 700 head on the previous week.

Much of this rise came in the form of cows, with 5,199 cows killed last week, up just over 500 head on the previous week.

The kill was just under 7,000 head behind the same week in 2024.

Rain across much of the country this week will see a flush growth, which will probably take off the pressure of some farmers in the south who were short of grass and looking at offloading cattle had the weather not played ball.

With pressure off on grass supplies, weanlings a good trade and milk a good trade, no big flush of dry cows is expected in the next few weeks either.

In a remarkable turnaround since May, the national kill is now running just under 45,000 head behind the same period in 2024.

It’s estimated that the kill could be up to 80,000 head behind the 2024 kill, so numbers are set to remain tight for the remainder of 2025 and with high live exports, nothing much will change well into 2026 either.

Across the water, the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB) is reporting steady demand for beef, with prices up slightly on the previous week.

R4L bullocks are coming in at 643.5p/kg (€7.76/kg incl VAT), while heifers are coming in at 640p/kg (€7.73/kg incl VAT).

The cow market in Britain is well behind the Irish price, with the UK cow price reported at 508p/kg (€6.13/kg incl VAT), which would leave the British cow price over €1/kg behind the Irish cow price.

Beef consumption remains under pressure across the water, with the latest data from the AHDB showing that for the 12 weeks up until 10 August 2025, beef prices in supermarkets have increased by 15% year on year, resulting in a 7.5% decline in sales in terms of volume. Mince sales were back 6.5%, while steak sales were back by 12.8% during this time.