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Factory prices for cull cows are running 28p/kg higher for the first six months of 2018 when compared with the same period last year.
According to statistics obtained from the Livestock and Meat Commission (LMC), the average price paid on an R3 cow from January to June 2018 is 318.06p/kg, compared with 290.7p/kg in 2017.
On a 350kg carcase, this makes cull cows slaughtered this year worth an additional £98.
Closer analysis shows that R3 cow price averaged 310.4p/kg in January 2018. Prices were relatively steady until March when increasing factory demand for manufacturing beef saw cow prices rise. R3 cows averaged 318.2p/kg for March and have risen to average 325.5p/kg in June.
Cow prices for the year to date are the second highest on record, just behind the 318.9p/kg average for R3 grades reported in the first half of 2013.
However, this price was artificially inflated after the horsemeat saga that year, whereas the current upward trend in cow prices has been fuelled purely by normal market demands.
While current cow prices are running significantly higher than last year, there is an even greater differential of 58p/kg between 2016 and 2018 prices, worth £203 on a 350kg carcase.
Steers
In terms of prime cattle, the differences between 2018 and 2017 prices are not as great. Steer prices have averaged 366.38p/kg for U3 grading animals for the first six months of 2018, which is 7p/kg higher than the previous year. On a 380kg carcase, this is worth an additional £26.60.
However, current steer prices are running 50p/kg above 2016 levels. That year, U3 steer prices averaged 316.86p/kg, which was the lowest price recorded over the last five-year period. It is a difference of £190 on a 380kg carcase.
As with cull cow prices, the average steer price for the first half of 2018 is the second highest on record, and just behind the 2013 average of 367.1p/kg.
Heifers
Year-to-date prices for beef heifers have averaged 368p/kg for U3 grading animals which is also 7p/kg above 2017 levels, making a 320kg animal worth an additional £22.40.
Current heifer prices are 52p/kg higher than 2016 prices which averaged 320p/kg, but are 7p/kg below 2013, when heifers averaged 374.9p/kg for the first half of the year.
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