A bigger cattle kill last week has put a little pressure on beef quotes this week with increased numbers coming on stream.
Last week’s kill hit almost 37,000 head, the highest weekly kill so far in 2026.
Weather has also played into factories’ hands a little with many farmers eager to move stock on in the last seven-to-10 days.
That said, agents are still active looking for cattle.
Bullocks
Bullocks retain the biggest demand, with base prices continuing to hover around the €6.60/kg to €6.70/kg mark. Most heifers are being bought at a base price of €6.70/kg to €6.80/kg.
Flat prices have been pared back a little with €7/kg now the going flat rate price for Aberdeen Angus bullocks and heifers.
Cow prices have also eased back with P+3 cows now trading for €6/kg.
The Irish R3 bullock price remains close to 90c/kg behind the British price or almost €350/head on a 380kg carcass.
The Irish bullock price is tracking about 20c/kg ahead of the average young bull price in Europe.
Cow, bullock and heifer kills
The cow kill went up by 500 head to bring the number to 7,571 killed last week.
The bullock kill dropped back slightly to 15,639 head while the bull kill too the first significant lift in a number of weeks, up over 400 head to 1,789 bulls processed for the week.
The heifer kill saw one of the biggest lifts, up almost 900 head on the week.
