Factories have continued to try to apply pressure to the trade this week, but prices seem to have bottomed out, with similar quotes on offer this week as were available last week.

Bullocks are working off €4.80/kg to €4.90/kg, while heifers are working off €4.90/kg to €4.95/kg.

Foyle Meats, Donegal, is quoting €4.90/kg for bullocks killing out between 300kg and 400kg, with heifers at the same weight being quoted at €4.95/kg base.

A big gap has opened up between those dealing with numbers and factory aligned feeders and those dealing with smaller numbers or the traditional farmer killing cattle a few times a year.

This is clearly evident in marts, where factory agents are paying way in excess of what beef cattle are making in the factory. Agents have been sent out this week again to source numbers in marts where numbers are tight.

Mounting frustration over tactics

Speaking to some finishers on Monday, there is mounting frustration among farmers around factory tactics at the moment.

All finishers have seen their production costs spiral in recent months, with meal costs heading for €450 now on some farms.

Paying this for meal and seeing €200/head being wiped off the price of finished cattle in the last month isn’t inspiring confidence in winter finishing for the back end.

That €200/head is now the average differential between an animal slaughtered in Britain and Ireland this week.

British trade

If anything, the trade across the water has improved in recent days, with factory-fit cattle in big demand.

Farmers are advised not to panic in any way.

By all means, kill cattle when they are fit, but given the situation where cattle numbers are, the ball is at the farmers' foot when it comes to securing better quotes.

Bull prices

There is a wide range in bull quotes, with some factories trying to buy under-16-month bulls on Monday morning at €4.80/kg and others quoting €4.90/kg on the grid.

U grading under-24-month bulls are being quoted from €4.95/kg to €5.05/kg, with R grading bulls coming in at €4.85/kg to €4.90/kg.

Cow prices

Some factories are very hungry for cows, while others are concentrating more on prime cattle. The advice is to shop around.

Quotes this week are running at €4.80/kg for R grading cows, €4.60/kg for O grading cows and €4.30/kg to €4.40/kg for P grading cows.

Specialist producers and those dealing with numbers are still working off 10c to 20c/kg more than these quotes.

NI trade

Finished cattle are holding firm in Northern Ireland, despite the best efforts of factories to pull quotes by 4p/kg to 426p/kg (€5.28/kg inc VAT).

Prime steers and heifers are making 448p to 452p/kg (€5.55 to €5.58/kg), with R grading cows around 400p/kg (€4.96/kg).