They say a week is a long time in politics. You could say a day is a long time in the beef trade at the moment, with quotes moving by the day this week.

Heifers have moved up 10c/kg to €6.30/kg base price. Some factories are still quoting €6.20/kg base price, but when the pressure comes on, they are paying higher.

Bullocks are also up in price this week, with a lot of factories paying €6.20/kg base price to get bullocks this week.

Factory agents are very active in marts hoovering up all types of slaughter-fit cattle.

There is also insatiable demand for cows in marts, with young cull cows making more than prime heifers in some cases.

Flat prices of as high as €6.80/kg are still on the table for large numbers of Aberdeen Angus and Hereford heifers. Farmers with smaller numbers are easily achieving flat prices of €6.60/kg.

Cows

Top-quality cows are coming in close to prime beef prices, with some marts reporting a higher price being paid for young cows than prime heifers in the last few days.

O+ suckler cows are generally working off €5.40/kg to €5.50/kg, while O grading dairy cows are being bought at €5.30/kg to €5.40/kg, depending on the factory.

R grading cows are being quoted at €5.60/kg to €5.70/kg and higher money is available where numbers are involved.

P+3 cows are working off €5.30/kg to €5.35/kg, depending on weight, age and flesh.

Well-fleshed U grading cows continue to command top prices of €5.90/kg to €6.00/kg and over for young, fleshed heavy cows. Factory agents are paying the equivalent of €6/kg deadweight and over it in marts to secure top-quality fleshed cows.

Bulls

Under-24-month bulls are still working off €6.40/kg to €6.50/kg for U grading bulls and higher where larger numbers are involved.

Flat prices of €6.40/kg and over it is on the table where big numbers are involved. R grading bulls are coming in at €6.10/kg to €6.20/kg, while O grading bulls are being bought at €5.90/kg to €6.00/kg.

Under-16-month bulls are working off a base price of €5.90/kg before any QA bonus or grid payments are added.

Last week’s kill came in at 38,909 head. All categories of cattle went up in number, with cows seeing a massive lift of almost 2,000 head.

Calf slaughtering increased from 127 head for the previous week to 176 head for last week. Calf slaughter figures are currently running ahead of 2024 numbers.

The overall kill is running about 2,000 head over what was killed in the same week in 2024.

Prices across the water this week have also kicked on, with some factories having to increase quotes by 10p to 20p/kg to secure cattle this week.

For the week ending 1 February 2025, the AHDB reported an average R4L bullock price of 617p/kg (€7.81/kg incl VAT). Some plants are struggling for numbers on the back of tight supplies and big demand.

Speaking to a large feeder in the UK this week, he said financing the business was now a real struggle, with the replacement costs for stock gone way above what was being budgeted for with banks.

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Prices north of the border have also firmed up this week. Factory agents are scouring the country looking for slaughter-fit cattle, with a few dipping into other customers’ yards trying to poach.

Prime cattle are working off an official quote of £5.60/kg (€7.09/kg incl VAT), but £5.70 (€7.21/kg) is achievable to those with numbers.

Cows are also in big demand, with some exceptional prices being paid by factories in marts this week for finished cows.

Prices of £4.50 (€5.70/kg incl VAT) and over it are being paid for R grading cows, with more on the table for U grading cows.