Winter finishers need a beef price north of €4.50/kg to cover costs, Irish Farmers Journal analysis has shown.

The analysis examines a system finishing bullocks out of the shed next March and an under-16-month bull system.

With beef prices hovering around €3.60/kg, they have a long way to go to get to the required beef price to break even.

With store cattle trading at higher prices compared to 2019, it heaps the pressure on winter finishers to secure contracts from factories, something factories have been reluctant to do in the past.

A hard Brexit adds to the uncertainty and could have severe consequences, with animals coming to finish in the eye of a Brexit storm next spring.

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