The beef trade remains in an extremely positive position and farmers are in a strong place when negotiating for higher prices.
Most reports indicate that processing demand is rock solid, with factory agents keen to lock in numbers for the week ahead.
That said, farmers offloading cattle indicate the majority of deals on offer are on par with last week. This keeps the upper end of official base quotes on 460p/kg for U-3 grading cattle. But in reality, factories are opening on 470p/kg for conventional cattle.
There are deals being made at 470p to 472p/kg, but this would generally reflect farmers with limited negotiating power.
Most reports indicate deals hovering between 474p and 476p/kg for steers and heifers, rising to 478p/kg for farmers handling bigger numbers.
At the upper end of the market, there are isolated reports of 480p/kg paid to farmers offloading animals on a regular basis, with butcher-type heifers included within such deals.
Young bulls are moving off farm around 464p to 470p/kg, with the higher end of these prices tied to animals meeting tight weight specifications.
Angus cattle are also benefitting from the uplift in base quotes and, depending on the level of conformation, there are suckler-bred animals moving close to the 490p/kg mark.
Prices at local factories are on par with those in Britain, but fall just short of prices on offer in the Republic of Ireland, where U grading animals are making €5.70/kg. This converts to 480p/kg excluding VAT.
Last week, U3 steers rose by 4.8p/kg to average 475p/kg at local plants, with heifers at the same grade up 3.5p/kg to 474.1p/kg.
Cull cows
Cull cows are a super trade, with demand outstripping supply. Official quotes bear little resemblance to actual prices, falling 20p to 30p/kg short of most deals.
Good-quality R grading cows are making 400p/kg, with deals rising to 420p/kg for animals with higher levels of conformation.
NI sheep: factories cut base quotes
The hogget trade has slowed this week, with quotes back 10p to 20p/kg, with plants on 510p/kg, although 520p/kg is available as a starting price. This makes hoggets worth £114.40 at the 22kg limit.
In Gortin, the best hoggets at 27.5kg sold to £125, hoggets at 24.5kg made £114, 23.5kg to £116 and 22kg to £106.
Kilrea sold 550 hoggets from 474p to 513pkg, down 10p/kg on last week. Hoggets at 24kg sold to £114.50, with 22kg at £108.
At Markethill, 400 hoggets sold from 475p to 498p/kg, no change on last week.
Saintfield sold 685 hoggets from 475p to 515p/kg, down 13p/kg on last week. Heavy Texel hoggets at 28kg made £125, with 27kg Suffolks selling to £125. Texels at 22kg sold to £110, with 21kg to £104.
In Rathfriland, 427 hoggets sold from 460p to 495p/kg, with the sale average of 472p/kg down 21p/kg on last week.
In Ballymena, the trade was firm for early lots. Heavy hoggets at 27kg made £121, 23kg made £115.50 with 21.5kg at £106.
Ewes
The trade for fat ewes is steady. In Gortin, the top price was £124, with the main run from £102 to £122.
In Kilrea, top was £144 and in Markethill, it was £130. In Saintfield, Texels sold to £180, with the main run making £118 to £155. In Rathfriland, ewes topped £145.
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