Finished cattle numbers continue to tighten around the country, keeping supply in farmers’ favour when it comes to beef prices again this week.

Base prices for bullocks are working off €6.40/kg this week, with heifers being sold at €6.50/kg.

There is more money on offer in some places, with those with numbers in a strong selling position, with agents actively seeking out stock this week.

ADVERTISEMENT

There is a thought within the industry that numbers will continue to tighten over the next few weeks, with October and the beginning of November being a particular pinch point for supplies.

This is evident in marts with a lot of forward store cattle being purchased by factory aligned finishers and factories themselves for further finishing.

We are 15 weeks out from Christmas week, but already retailers and factories are putting in place plans around Christmas supplies.

Some of the increased buying in the last week is on the back of those plans. Breed bonuses of 20c/kg are on the table for in-spec stock this week, with Angus cattle in good demand.

Traditionally, the week before the National Ploughing Championships or indeed the week of the championships have never been a week where factories have moved to cut prices and this year looks no different.

Changes to the Irish Angus Producer Group bonus scheme came into effect on 7 September. These include participation in AgNav and that the animals being processed have a recorded sire.

It’s understood that there will be a soft introduction to the new terms for a number of weeks. The maximum bonus if all conditions are met will be 20c/kg.

Bulls are a better trade this week, with under-24-month U grading bulls coming in at €6.50/kg to €6.60/kg this week, with R grading bulls being bought at €6.40/kg to €6.50/kg.

Under-16-month bulls are working off a base price of €6.30/kg to €6.40/kg, but numbers are very small.

The cow trade has also firmed up, with €6.50/kg now available for well-fleshed R grading cows.

Over €6.50/kg was paid for U grading cows this week, with specialist cow finishers on higher quotes.

The mart continues to be the place of choice for many smaller suckler farmers to offload cows, with factory agents going above what is available in factories when buying cows in marts.

O grading cows are working off a quote of €6.20/kg this week, with P+3 cows coming in at €5.90/kg to €6/kg, depending on weight and flesh cover.

Last week’s kill came in at a similar level to where it was the previous week, with a slight increase of just over 600 head.

The bullock kill saw the biggest rise, with an extra 600 killed last week. The heifer kill saw a slight rise of just under 300 head, with all other categories staying at a similar level to where they were last week.

Bulls are scarce, with last week’s bull kill dropping to 1,386 head, one of the lowest kills so far in 2026. The current kill is running just over 5,000 head ahead of the same week in 2025, with the year-to-date kill running almost 42,000 head over the same period in 2025.

Prices across the water saw a slight improvement, with quotes up 2p to 5p/kg. R4L bullocks are coming in at 615p/kg (€7.48/kg), with supplies also tightening in the UK.

The latest official quotes from both countries put a 69c/kg gap between Irish bullocks and UK bullocks at the end of August. This translates into a €262 differential on a bullock killing out at a 380kg carcase.

That gap has increased in recent weeks, with the UK price maintaining firm, but Irish quotes dropping. Irish beef exports to the UK were down 10% for the first half of 2026.