Factories over the last week have been trying to shave off 5c to 10c/kg from finished cattle, with this message seemingly having been passed on to their agents as well who have been curtailed in their spend on finished cattle in marts over the last week.
Last week brought price increases of 7c/kg for 600kg-plus heifers, with bullocks up just 1c/kg.
This week is a much dourer affair for smaller finishers heading to marts.
Finished bullocks over 600kg are back 18c/kg on average to leave them trading at €3.61/kg, while 500kg to 600kg lots have fallen 12c/kg as well.
Heifers aren’t quite as bad, considering last week’s price increase, with a 12c/kg slippage in price seen over the last week to leave these 600kg-plus lots 12c/kg back on last week.
With the slippage in heavy cattle price comes an erosion in confidence in store markets. Store heifers from 350kg to 00kg fell 13c/kg in the week to leave them trading at €3.54/kg, while light stores from 400kg to 500kg are also well behind finished prices at €3.68/kg on average.
Surprisingly, despite the finished bullock trade being well behind that of heifers, the store trade for bullocks is actually ahead on price, with bullocks 5c to 14c/kg ahead of their female counterparts.
On the store and finishing front, numbers of cattle being slaughtered have increased dramatically over the last few weeks in comparison with 2025 levels.
With increased buying from factories, the deficit in our kill numbers from just a few short weeks ago has now been made up.
Some 36,943 cattle were slaughtered in plants last week, with the comparative figure for 2025 being 29,934.
The cumulative kill to date has reached 1,326,067 head, just 1,266 head behind the same week last year.
Six weeks ago, we were 38,020 head behind the 2025 figures, showing just how much processing has ramped up in October.
The number of cows killed, despite some fears that the drought or poorer milk and beef prices would see increased cull figures, is actually back by 5,611 head (291,325 in 2025 v 285,714 in 2026).
Cow prices in marts did not go unaffected by the prime cattle price fall, with cows now trading to an average of €2.66/kg, back 20c/kg on the week, while the top third of cows are back 21c/kg to €3.47/kg of an average, while the bottom third are now trading at €1.89/kg, a 7c/kg slip in the week.
Weanlings
In line with heavy cattle prices, weanlings have also fallen in price over the last week, with news of Algeria looking to ban cattle imports an obvious worry for suckler farmers producing these weanlings and ready to turn them out over the next few weeks, as well as the buyers of these who have helped to put a steady floor on quality bull weanlings this back end.
What will happen with it remains to be seen, with the likelihood being that Algeria will be closed for some unknown length of time.
Bull weanlings from 300kg to 400kg fell by 25c/kg this week to see them below €5/kg for the first time in many weeks.
