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Prices for weanlings sold at marts last winter were hit by Brexit uncertainty, just like finished cattle sold at the factories, exclusive analysis by the Irish Farmers Journal shows.
Prices for weanling bulls, sold between 1 September and 23 March, were €64 to €74 per head lower than in 2015/16, before the Brexit referendum and the resulting uncertainty.
Weanling heifers were €83 to €97 per head lower. Store cattle were also down.
The figures strengthen the claim of suckler farmers that they should share equally with finishers in the €100m beef aid. Poorer prices for weanlings mean lower buying-in prices for finishers.
Weanling bulls of 200kg to 300kg sold last winter averaged €2.38/kg at mart sales, according to the Irish Farmers Journal Martwatch. That compares with €2.68/kg before Brexit, a difference of 29c/kg or €74/hd.
Weanling heifers of 200kg to 300kg sold last winter averaged €2.31/kg compared with €2.70 before Brexit, a difference of 39c/kg or €97/hd.
The Irish Farmers Journal has also compared weanling prices of last autumn and winter with 2017/18.
Mart prices a year ago were €41/head higher for weanling bulls of 200kg to 300kg and €49/head higher for weanling heifers of the same weight.
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