The beef trade continues to move in a positive direction, with quotes improving in some plants on Monday morning ahead of this week’s kill.

Some factories that were quoting €4.60/kg for bullocks last week have had to move to €4.65/kg this week to get stock.

Heifers are also up in some locations, with €4.70/kg a lot easier achieved compared with this day two weeks ago. Higher quotes are also on offer to larger operators and regular customers.

Some factories are still getting away with buying bullocks at €4.60/kg and heifers at €4.65/kg, so the advice to farmers is sell hard over the coming week.

Field work

Good weather for the week will likely mean farmers concentrating on field work, so supplies aren’t expected to move up by much this week.

Beef quotes north of the border are also on the up, with finishers reporting agents being very active over the weekend looking for stock.

Flat prices of up to €5.18/kg for heifers are being paid this week for export for direct slaughter to Northern Ireland.

Supplies of finished cattle remain very tight across the entire UK. Demand has also improved and this has meant the price has had to go up to get the required number of cattle on a weekly basis.

Bulls

The bull trade also remains firm this week, with up to €4.90/kg being paid to a few specialised bull finishers for U grading under-24-month bulls.

R grading bulls are being quoted at €4.75/kg to €4.85/kg, with a little more going to regular suppliers and those with numbers.

O and P grading bulls are trading at 5c to 15c/kg less than this.

Cow prices

The manufacturing trade also remains strong, with good demand for fleshed cows from all factories this week.

Mince dishes feature strongly on back-to-school menus, which always adds some life to the trade.

Well-fleshed P+3 cows continue to trade at €3.70/kg to €3.80/kg, depending on weight and quality.

O grading cows are working off €3.90/kg to €4.00/kg, while good R grading cows are coming in at €4.10/kg to €4.20/kg.

U grading cows are being quoted as high as €4.40/kg to €4.50/kg in some factories which are anxious for cows.

NI buyers

Northern Ireland cattle buyers remained very active in marts over the weekend, with many feeders now stocking off with forward stores for finishing before Christmas.

Some other NI-based finishers are opting for lighter cattle, which has lifted the trade for lighter stores in some mart over the last week.