There was a €149/head price gap between the best and worst paying beef factory for prime cattle in the O=3= grade in 2025, the Irish Farmers Journal’s annual analysis of factory price data shows.

Top quality U=3= bullocks and heifers showed a price variation of €130 and €131 respectively. There was a €233/head difference in the price for R=3= grading cows. These values are based on the gap between the highest and lowest reported prices across 16 different cattle grades reported by factories for a minimum of 10 weeks in 2025.

This minimum number of weeks has been introduced this year to better reflect prices paid in everyday trade. It excludes random price outliers where a factory may have just killed one animal in a particular grade during the year.

ADVERTISEMENT