The National Ploughing Championships week is always a week where factories hold things steady.

Many of them are involved in stands at the Ploughing and bringing the wrath of thousands of farmers on them wouldn’t be a great PR exercise for them.

It’s always a quiet time when it comes to marketing cattle, as farmers concentrate on the trip away this week.

Good weather has also taken the pressure off on some farms that were short on grass, especially in the nortwest.

Cattle supplies took another lift last week, but this isn’t expected to have any impact on prices being offered.

Factories have turned to their larger feeders, with the number of cattle killed out of feedlots in July rising by 4,000 head or 1,000 head/week compared with July 2023.

Bullocks are working off a €5.05/kg to €5.10/kg base price, while heifers are working off a €5.10/kg to €5.15/kg base price this week.

As is always the case, those with numbers and regular customers are working off anywhere between 10c and 30c/kg ahead of quoted prices.

Breed bonuses of up to 30c/kg are being paid for in-spec Aberdeen Angus cattle, with flat prices of up to €5.35/kg also being paid for in-spec Aberdeen Angus heifers.

Factories are becoming increasingly concerned in relation to a reduction in carcase weights they are seeing in their factories.

John Kelly highlighted at an ABP event last week that ABP Waterford has seen weights drop by between 22kg and 35kg and that lower weights were a problem for the factory.

Cows

O+ suckler cows are generally working off €4.50/kg to €4.65/kg, while O grading dairy cows are being bought at €4.30/kg to €4.40/kg, depending where you are.

R grading cows are being quoted at €4.75/kg to €4.80/kg and higher money is available where numbers are involved.

P+3 cows are working off €4.30/kg to €4.40/kg, depending on weight, age and flesh cover.

Bulls

Under-24-month bulls are still working off a €5.35/kg to €5.40/kg base price for U grading bulls.

R grading bulls are coming in at €5.20/kg to €5.30/kg, while O grading bulls are being bought at €5.00/kg to €5.10/kg.

P grading bulls are working off €5.00/kg, depending on weight and flesh cover.

Under-16-month bulls are generally working off a €5.00/kg to €5.10/kg base price.

Last week’s kill came in at 38,434, an increase of 895 head on the previous week’s kill of 37,539.

The bullock kill saw the largest increase, with 18,134 bullocks killed last week, the highest so far in 2024.

Speaking at the Ploughing, IFA livestock chair Declan Hanrahan said: “Demand for Irish beef is very positive at the moment, with supplies lower than anticipated in the UK.

“Farmers with finished cattle to sell are advised to sell hard and price around when getting quotes for finished cattle.”

Prices across the water have continued to improve, with some plants up 4p/kg on last week’s prices.

Finished cattle continue to be in short supply and demand is solid, with the back-to-school routine driving mince sales in particular.

R4L bullocks are up to 502p/kg (€6.31/kg incl VAT) this week, with talk of further improvements coming next week. That opens up the price gap to €1/kg or almost €400 on a 380kg R grading carcase.

NI comment

Base quotes have jumped 4p/kg at NI plants, bringing the lower end of quotes into line with the upper end of the market and puts U-3 cattle on 470p to 476p/kg (€5.82 to €5.90/kg inc VAT).

Deals on steers and heifers remain on 492p to 496p/kg (€6.10 to €6.15/kg), with young bulls on 490p (€6.07/kg).