Factories have taken the knife to beef quotes again this week, slashing a further 10c/kg off base prices.

This is the third week in a row that factories have moved to shave off 10c/kg off base prices, with farmers becoming increasingly concerned with factories’ ability to reduce quotes despite the kill remaining very low.

Factories are also flexing their muscles in the mart trade, with some now saying they won’t process any animal direct from a mart unless the animal has been in a herd for 30 days.

ADVERTISEMENT

This is reducing the number of buyers for finished cattle at ringside, but not eliminating them altogether, with a number of agents still buying in marts for a next-day kill.

The move means that beef quotes are back 30c to 40c/kg in the last three weeks, wiping close to €150/head off animals with a carcase weight of 350kg.

Base quotes for bullocks this week are starting at €7.20/kg, with heifers working off a base quote off €7.30/kg.

Some factory agents are indicating a further move downwards next week, with €7/kg mentioned in some plants.

That said, there also appears to be two leagues operating when it comes to beef quotes. At the top, you have the big guns, finishing big numbers every week and they appear to be escaping the weekly cut or at least the cuts are a week behind the rest. The rest are the small finishers who are marketing cattle once or twice a year and have smaller numbers.

The recent weather hasn’t helped the finishers’ case, with some farmers getting a little uneasy with cattle doing damage around feeding troughs, especially in the northwest of the country.

It’s an unusual move for factories to cut beef quotes in Ploughing week and agents did take some heat at stands at the ploughing championships this week.

There is a thought that factories were under increased pressure from some of their large feeders to do something to correct the store price as they look to restock over the next few months.

The slide in quotes hasn’t hit the mart trade to a big extent, although poorer-quality types are back in the last seven to 10 days.

Speaking to farmers at the Ploughing, confidence is very low in terms of buying store cattle for a winter finish, with store prices and lack of any contract or certainty from beef factories on a beef price being the big barrier in terms of venturing into finishing cattle this winter.

Cows

The cow trade is also back, with some factories down another 10c to 20c/kg for cows for Monday’s quotes.

R grading cows are generally trading at €7.00/kg to €7.10/kg, while O grading cows are coming in around €6.80/kg to €6.90/kg, depending on weight and flesh cover.

P grading cows are back to €6.40/kg in some locations, but €6.50/kg is still available, especially where numbers are involved.

Bulls

Up to €7.50/kg is still available at the top end for U grading bulls where numbers are involved, working back to €7.20/kg to €7.30/kg for O grades.

Last week’s kill came in at 28,863 head, up just over 1,300 head on the previous week.

Speaking to factory agents, they are expecting the current rise in numbers to be shortlived, with weather being the main driver at the moment.

Some even indicated that Christmas buying could start earlier this year given where numbers are at.

The main driver of the increase was heifers, with the heifer kill up just under 700 head last week. The cow kill rose by 300 head, but still remains low at just under 5,500.

The prime kill is currently running 72,000 head behind the 2024 kill, with Bord Bia estimating the cattle kill to be back by over 70,000 head in 2025, so the cattle kill is expected to remain steady for the rest of the year.