It was a phenomenal year for the store bullock and heifer trade. After a sluggish start in January and February in 2025, an early spring brought the trade to life in March and April and it never looked back after that.
An increase in the beef price and a tightness in supply in cattle numbers for grazing drove buyers to new heights in April and May as the trade kept on improving.
For the analysis of the bullocks and heifer trade, this week we took the average-quality category and compared them across the main weight categories and main breeds.
The Charolais breed has been again crowned king of ring in the 2025 battle of the breeds, taking up pole position on price per kg in five out of the six animal categories.
The overall best price per kg for 2025 went to the Belgian Blue breed, with average heifers weighing over 500kg coming in at €4.90/kg over the last 12 months.
That means an average Belgian Blue heifer weighing 600kg was coming in at €2,940/head.
The 500kg-plus Belgian Blue heifer category also recorded the largest price increase in 2025, up €1.96/kg on the 2024 price.
The next top price per kg went to Charolais bullocks in the 400kg to 500kg weight category in 2025. They came in at €4.77/kg or €2,146/head.
The 400kg to 500kg weight category is also the most popular weight category for selling bullocks and heifers.
The grass trade had a big impact on the bullock price in 2025, with lighter bullocks seeing a particular lift early in the year.
This was a big driver of the Hereford bullocks in the 300kg to 400kg weight category. They came in at €4.18/kg in 2025, one of the highest increases seen in 2025 at €1.62/kg.
The trio of Charolais, Belgian Blue and Limousin took the three top spots in terms of price per kg across all weight categories in 2025.
Limousin heifers in the 300kg to 400kg weight bracket recorded an increase of €1.54/kg, while Limousin bullocks in the same weight category recorded an increase of €1.55/kg in 2025.
Breed breakdown
Taking a look at the breed breakdown in the bullock and heifer rings in 2025, it remained pretty similar, with some small changes, especially on the dairy-beef side.
Aberdeen Angus throughput increased by 6.6%, one of the largest increases we have seen in recent years.
Belgian Blue-sired bullocks and heifers saw a slight decrease in numbers in 2025. The Charolais breed also recorded a slight decrease of 1.1%, going down from 19.5% in 2024 to 18.4% in 2025.
The Friesian breed also recorded a similar decrease, with sexed semen and high calf exports in 2024 leaving the number of Friesian bullocks on the market tighter in 2025.
Hereford cattle recorded a 1.8% increase in 2025 while the Limousin breed recorded the biggest reduction at 3.5% in 2025. The Simmental breed remained unchanged at 2.9% . Some of the lesser-known breeds also lost market share.
SHARING OPTIONS