Cull cow prices continue to increase, with some huge prices being paid for cows in marts around the country over the last few days.

R grading cows have risen from €6/kg to €6.80/kg in factories over the last three weeks.

Factory agents are very hungry for slaughter-fit cows, with prices jumping by €200 to €300/head in the last two weeks.

The manufacturing beef trade continues to perform really well.

A shortage of good-quality cows in the market has driven the price up, with factory agents being issued with strict instructions this week not to leave any cows behind them such is the demand.

Huge demand

Elphin Mart had over 100 dry cows through the ring in Monday night’s sale. Top-quality cows all made over the €4/kg mark, with the majority of the well-fleshed cows snapped up by factory buyers for next-day killing.

Top call went to a September 2021-born Limousin cow weighing 880kg and selling for €3,600 (€4.09/kg).

Mart manager Ciaran Lynch said: “We have lads ringing the mart looking for slaughter-fit cattle at the moment. They just can’t get enough.”

All cattle have seen a lift in price this week, with grass buyers starting to get more prominent around mart rings, with good weather and better ground conditions adding some confidence to the trade.

Mart managers are reporting some grass buyers cutting their cloth to suit the measure, so to speak, with some farmers only buying two cattle where they would have bought three last year for the same money.

Rude awakening

Some of these buyers would have sold cattle in the back end and are getting a rude awakening standing ringside over the last two weeks.

It has shifted some buyers back to suck calves, with southern mart managers reporting a lot of new customers purchasing calves for rearing this year.

In many instances, farmer buyers are taking exporters out, especially for the stronger calves.

The weanling also continues to hit new highs, with the top third of calves in the 300kg to 400kg weight bracket now knocking on the door of €5/kg.

It’s hard to believe where we have come from in six months. Last October, €4/kg was a great price for weanlings, but cull cows are hitting that now.

Taking a look at this week’s Martbids analysis table, it paints another very positive picture of last week’s mart trade.

It’s interesting to see that all the top third of cattle in every weight category crossed the €4/kg mark this week, with the top price going to the top third of weanling bulls in the 300kg to 400kg weight bracket, coming in at a massive €4.86/kg. This was up 19c/kg on the previous week.

Average-quality weanlings in the same weight bracket came in at €4.21/kg this week.

Top-quality weanling heifers in the 300kg to 400kg weight bracket came in at €4.52/kg this week, up 4c/kg on last week.

Moving to the bullock rings, almost all weights and quality types saw a rise in price this week, with the only exception being Friesian bullocks in the 350kg to 400kg weight bracket that were back 9c/kg on the previous week.