The beef trade has settled after the holiday period, with plants back to their normal killing schedule.

One again, the trade remains relatively steady. Some plants indicate they are booked out for cattle and have shaved 2p/kg off their base quote.

Other plants have improved their quote by a similar amount and are giving a more positive overview of the trade at present.

This leaves the range of base quotes on 350p/kg to 354p/kg for U3 grading cattle, but there are numerous deals being made well ahead of quotes.

The availability of cattle is relatively good at present, mainly because processors are sourcing the majority of throughput from larger finishers with a regular supply of animals.

Deals of 360p/kg to 365p/kg are being reported again this week, with 370p/kg being paid on heifers towards the upper end of the market.

Farmers with smaller numbers, or those who sell less frequently, are facing a bigger challenge to get an improved price deal.

They are also facing a delay of a week to 10 days to book cattle for slaughter. Prices being reported are typically 354p/kg to 356p/kg.

Some processors have indicated they would like to get prices down, but with a strong live trade and a reliance on regular sellers, they are facing difficulty to put a lid on price.

Demand for manufacturing beef remains firm and, with prices in Ireland and Britain unchanged, the outlook is steady for next week.

Last week, the average price for steers and heifers was 353.85p/kg. The average for U3 steers was 364p/kg with U3 heifers averaging 366.7p/kg.

Cows

The trade for cull cows remains brisk, with plants quoting 265p/kg to 275p/kg for O+3 animals and 285p/kg for R3 cows. Deals continue to be made at 295p/kg to 300p/kg for good-quality beef cows.

Quotes for hoggets at the plants are up another 5p/kg this week to 400p/kg. This makes a hogget worth £88 at the 22kg weight limit. The plants are struggling to keep pace with the mart trade and deals up to 415p/kg should be available for producer groups and sizeable individual suppliers.

At their first sales of the year, Kilrea sold 730 hoggets from 364p to 388p/kg, while Massereene sold 810 hoggets making from 380p to 408p/kg. At Rathfriland, 600 hoggets sold from 345p to 390p/kg and averaged 360p/kg.

In Saintfield on Tuesday, a big show of 1,044 hoggets sold from 350p to 406p/kg, down by 4p to 15p/kg on last week.

The fat ewe trade continues firm. Top prices in Newtownstewart were £90/head, in Swatragh £95/head, to £85 in Kilrea and to £104 in Massereene. In Saintfield on Tuesday, a big show of 204 head made up to £130 for very good, well-fleshed ewes.

Store lambs in Ballymena, Monday evening, saw 15 Texels make £65/head and 35 Easycare sheep make £63.50. Other Texel lots made from £54 to £58.50/head.