Factories are returning to the playbook of old and trying to talk down the cattle trade.

It’s the oldest trick in the book to see what’s out there and flush out what’s left.

A short week this week has left factories not under as much pressure to fill lairages.

Many are just running at half capacity, working on four half-days this week rather than full days of killing.

While factories are trying their best to talk it down, the trade hasn’t changed on last week’s quotes. Cows look like they will see a slight correction, but factory agents are still very strong around the ring for good cows.

Prime cattle remain in short supply, with good demand for in-spec stock remaining in all factories.

Bullocks are working off a base price of 5.25/kg, while heifers are working off a base price of €5.35/kg.

Donegal Meats remains unchanged at €5.35/kg base for bullocks and €5.40/kg for heifers killing out between 300kg and 400kg.

Flat deals of as high as €5.90/kg are also still being paid for mixes of O and R grading Aberdeen Angus heifers.

Bulls in demand

Bulls are still in big demand, with several factories and smaller wholesalers competing hard for bull supply.

Under-16-month bulls are generally trading around €5.40/kg.

U grading bulls are now up at €5.60/kg to €5.70/kg in a couple of factories.

There are also flat deals of €5.70/kg to €5.80/kg going in some smaller factories for under-16-month bulls with no weight limits.

Under-24-month R grading bulls are working off €5.40/kg to €5.50/kg, depending on flesh cover.

Deals are being done at €5.50/kg for mixes of Rs and Us.

O grading black and white bulls have been sold at €5.30/kg this week.

Cow prices

U grading cows are being quoted at €5.20/kg to €5.30/kg, with those with high numbers of good cows able to squeeze a little more out of the market.

Wholesalers are the best payers at the moment, with some giving 10c to 20c/kg more for top-end cows compared with some of the mainstream factories.

These smaller factories have also injected serious competition into the mart trade.

R grading cows are trading for as high as €5.00/kg to €5.10/kg, with good O grading cows coming in at €4.80/kg to €4.90/kg.

Well-fleshed P+3 cows are being quoted at €4.75/kg, but flat deals are available to those with higher numbers.

Across the water, the beef trade is as strong as ever, with R4L heifers coming in at £4.50/kg to £4.55/kg (€5.60/kg to €5.65/kg) this week.

Cull cow prices hit a new record last week, coming in at an average of €4.50/kg ahead of the long bank holiday weekend in Britain.

Reports from the trade would suggest a big boost in sales, which should help demand in the coming weeks.

Across Europe, the trade continues to perform well.

The German beef market has seen a correction, with U3 young bulls coming back to €5.25/kg. U3 young bulls in France are coming in at €5.54/kg.

NI comment

There is little in the way of change to prices for prime cattle in Northern Ireland.

Base quotes on U-3 grading animals sit around 430p/kg (€5.33/kg inc VAT), although price deals continue to run well above this level.

Steers are on 446p/kg (€5.53/kg), with heifers pushing upwards to 450p/kg (€5.58/kg).

Young bulls are moving around 440p/kg (€5.47/kg).

Demand for cull cows is also holding firm, with quotes unchanged for R3 animals on 370p/kg (€4.59/kg).

However, deals are closer to 400p/kg (€4.94/kg) for good-quality beef-bred animals.

Prices on prime cattle at NI plants are on par with those being paid by processors in Britain.