There’s a different feel to the beef trade this week, with a marked turnaround in factory agents’ ability to get cattle killed, with many now back on the road looking for cattle.

Factories are gearing up for Christmas retail orders and have been forced to increase quotes to secure supplies of in-spec cattle.

With numbers of cattle being slaughtered increasing and prices also rising, it’s a sure sign that the market is moving and it’s also a reflection of the very strong retail demand that currently exists across the UK and Ireland.

Prime cattle quotes have moved up by 5c/kg and 10c/kg in some cases. This is especially evident in the heifer trade, with factories very hungry for in-spec heifers, with €3.70/kg now widely available across the country for in-spec heifers.

Steers are moving to €3.65/kg over the last few days. Flat deals of Angus and Hereford cattle are also being brokered, with no deductions from base regardless of grade being paid by some.

It’s a similar story in the bull trade this week, with under-16-month bulls trading off €3.55/kg to €3.65/kg on the grid.

Older R grading bulls are at €3.55/kg to €3.60/kg, with U grades coming in on average 10c/kg higher at €3.65/kg to €3.70/kg.

There is some scope around no penalties on heavy bulls, with a number of processors actively looking for heavy bulls to fill specific market requirements.

The cow trade has stabilised after a few tough weeks of trading. Quotes for R grading cows are at €3.10/kg to €3.20/kg, O grading cows are in the €2.95/kg to €3.00/kg bracket and P grading cows are back at €2.80/kg to €2.90/kg. In a turnaround, factories are again seeking cows and in some cases canvassing outside their customer base to get them.

Last week’s kill went up to 39,262, which is traditionally high for the time of year. This was up 633 on the week before at 38,629. The big increase came from heifers, with both cows and steers dropping off from last week. There was 12,224 heifers killed last week, the highest weekly number in 2020.

IFA livestock chair Brendan Golden said: “Factories must start reflecting the full value of the Christmas trade in prices and farmers should dig in on price negotiations.”

Factories are actively sourcing in-spec cattle and base prices are pushing on by at least 5c/kg with flat deals for Angus and Hereford cattle available well above quoted prices.

Across the water, the GB trade is improving and COVID issues in some processing plants has increased the demand for Irish supplies.

In the week ending 7 November, the GB overall prime deadweight cattle price averaged 369.2p/kg (€4.36 incl VAT).

The price is now over 45p/kg (53c/kg incl VAT) above last year’s price for the same week and over 21p/kg (25c/kg incl VAT) above the five-year average.

AHDB figures show that prime throughput continues to run below that of last year, with the latest week’s figures back over 7% year on year.

NI comment

Base quotes in NI are holding at 366p/kg (€4.33/kg inc VAT) for U-3 grading animals, but reports indicate that 370p/kg (€4.38/kg) is widely available as a starting price on prime animals.

Farmers offloading steers indicate 374p to 376p/kg is on offer for in-spec animals, with prime heifers making 378p to 384p/kg (€4.47 to €4.54/kg) at the upper end of the market.