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Slaughter-fit and short-keep cattle sold through local marts are commanding prices beyond what is currently available to most farmers sending finished cattle to factories.
At the upper end of the trade, strong U-grade types have been making 280p to 300p/kg with increasing regularity since the beginning of January.
In some isolated instances, prices are pushing upwards to 315p/kg for heavy lots with more extreme levels of conformation.
Allowing for a kill-out percentage of 58%, a mart price of 280p/kg converts to a beef price in the region of 482p/kg, putting the live ring well ahead of factory prices.
At the top end of the market, the prices being paid equate to a beef price in the region of 500p/kg deadweight.
Factors behind rising mart prices include a downturn in the numbers of forward stores coming on the market, although this is not unusual for the time of year.
Processors are also struggling to source finished cattle direct from farms and in several instances, cattle agents are turning to the marts to bridge the gap in supplies, adding to competition around the ring.
Forecasts
The short to medium term outlook indicates that supplies of finished cattle look set to remain tight during the first half of 2023.
Based on APHIS figures at the start of January, beef cattle standing on farm aged between 24 and 30 months of age are down 3.5% or 2,500 head.
But a more worrying trend for processors is the 4.2% drop in cattle numbers aged between 18 and 24 months, with 8,700 fewer animals in the pipeline when compared to last year.
It is a similar situation in the Republic of Ireland with Bord Bia forecasting the national cattle kill will contract by 60,000 head in 2023.
Steady
Base factory quotes for U-3 grading cattle in NI have risen to 450p/kg this week although price deals are broadly similar to last week.
Most reports put steers and heifers between 465p and 470p/kg depending on numbers. Cull cows are a robust trade with good quality beef cows making 390p to 400p/kg.
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