Beef prices for heifers continue to edge upwards this week, with €3.80/kg now at the lower end of quotes for heifers.

Hard sellers have commanded as high as €3.90/kg this week in some factories.

Meanwhile, €3.80/kg is the general quote for bullocks, but, again, some farmers have managed to squeeze €3.85/kg for bullocks where heifers were part of the load.

The huge retail sales that were seen over Christmas have continued in the current lockdown and with that has brought increased demand for Aberdeen Angus and Hereford cattle.

Some plants have increased bonuses for in-spec Aberdeen Angus cattle to 25c/kg on top of grid payments and the in-spec bonus of 20c/kg.

Under-24-month bulls are also kicking on, with €3.70/kg to €3.75/kg now on offer for R grading bulls and €3.80/kg to €3.85/kg on offer for U grading bulls.

Under-16-month bulls are generally moving off a base of €3.70/kg to €3.75/kg, with numbers of bulls moving staying low.

O-grading bulls have also increased in price, with €3.60/kg to €3.65/kg being paid for well-fleshed bulls.

The cow trade is steady, with €3.00/kg being paid for well-fleshed P grading cows where O grading cows are making up part of the load.

O-grading cows are being quoted at €3.10/kg, while R-grading suckler cows are trading at €3.40/kg and higher where numbers are involved.

Finished cattle supplies

Factory agents have also been very active on the ground in marts around the country hoovering up supplies of finished cattle and in particular good young cows.

They are also paying way in excess of what these animals are worth to kill.

Watching the dry cow sale on Saturday in Central Auctions in Roscrea on Martbids, prices for top-quality dry cows were hitting €2.20/kg liveweight.

That translates into a beef price for cows of over €4/kg deadweight, so farmers should do the sums on mart options.

Factories seem to be happy to source these cattle themselves sooner than lift finished cattle prices, so the mart option has become a real player.

Farmers are reminded that the increase to 5.6% in the flat rate VAT is the equivalent of almost 1c/kg on beef price at current levels and farmers should insist on this change being reflected in increased beef quotes from factories.

Last week’s kill saw 33,019 cattle being killed, with 11,140 bullocks being killed and 11,723 heifers slaughtered.

With slaughter numbers rising along with prices, it’s a clear signal that the market is on the move.

IFA livestock chair Brendan Golden said: “Demand is strong and beef prices paid to farmers must push on and reflect the market conditions that exist.

Market returns to beef farmers remain a long way off the breakeven price of €4.50/kg and this is not sustainable.”

NI comment

Base quotes for U-3 grading cattle are rising in Northern Ireland, as plants react to tighter supplies of finished stock. A 6p/kg increase brings base quotes to 376p/kg (€4.40/kg inc VAT).

Deals start at 380p/kg for in-spec animals, with higher prices on offer for bigger numbers. At the top end of the market, 390p/kg (€4.57/kg) is being paid to larger finishers for heifers.

Cows are also on the rise, with quotes up 5p/kg to 275p/kg (€3.22/kg) for R grades, but deals are on offer well above this level.