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Official quotes on prime cattle have jumped to 540p/kg for U-3 animals, a 12p/kg rise on last week.
An increase of this magnitude shows how strong processing demand is at present and undermines talk from some factory agents about plentiful supplies coming on the market.
Factory quotes are running more than 70p/kg above their equivalent value in January 2024 and with prices in Britain above 600p/kg, there is scope for local plants to pay more.
Farmers with cattle to sell hold all the cards when it comes to negotiating on price, especially those with the option to sell live.
Reports indicate 550p/kg is a realistic opening price on prime cattle with deals of 552p and 554p/kg on offer to lock in numbers.
Higher prices in the region of 560p/kg are being paid to regular finishers with a steady supply of steers and heifers.
Factories are using the live ring to supplement throughput. But in order to secure numbers, they are paying prices well above these levels.
Good-quality cattle are freely making 330p to 350p/kg in marts, which equates to deadweight prices of 570p to 600p/kg at 58% kill-out.
Penalties on animals falling outside of market specifications are non-existent, as factory agents fear losing out on cattle if price cuts are imposed.
Where farmers encounter difficulty when negotiating on price, the advice from finishers in a similar position is to walk away and price around, as improved offers have quickly materialised.
Young bulls are moving at prices around 540p/kg, although there are reports of deals on par to 550p/kg.
In Britain, U grading cattle are freely making 610p to 620p/kg with Scotland paying prices at the higher end of this range.
Cows
Quotes on cull cows have moved up 4p to 424p/kg for O+3 animals, with R grading animals making 10p/kg more and deals running upwards to 460p/kg depending on age and conformation.
NI sheep: marts underpin hogget trade
Factories continue to spin a negative outlook on the hogget trade and there have been moves to cut base quotes by another 10p to 680p/kg, although 690p/kg is available.
However, few farmers are offloading hoggets anywhere near these levels, as mart prices are holding steady, with £165 to £170 available on heavy fleshed animals at sales held earlier this week.
Farmers indicate factories continue to pay 700p/kg to 710p/kg for the main run of hoggets, with isolated reports of specialist finishers handling big numbers on 720p/kg.
Throughput at local plants has been significantly curtailed in recent weeks, with kill lines being prioritised for cattle as the beef trade goes from strength to strength.
As plants are handling fewer sheep, it has given buying agents some scope to apply price pressure and backlog animals, although in reality there is no major oversupply in the chain.
At the same time, farmers indicate they are under no pressure to sell, with seasoned finishers happy to wait until buying demand starts to ramp up for Ramadan next month.
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