The beef trade remains very stable this week, with quotes remaining unchanged from last week.

Heifers remain top of the pile, with quotes of €4.40/kg base at the top of the market starting off this week.

A lot of heifers are being bought at €4.30/kg to €4.35/kg, with in-spec bonuses and breed bonuses being paid on top of that.

Unchanged

Bullock quotes also remain unchanged, with €4.25/kg to €4.30/kg base price being quoted by most factories, with a little more going to regular customers and those with numbers.

Competition remains good, with procurement managers crossing over into each other’s patches over the last three weeks to get cattle.

Young bulls remain in good demand, with some factories more eager than others to secure supplies.

Under-16-month bulls are working off €4.20/kg, with under-24-month-old bulls generally being paid out at €4.30/kg to €4.40/kg for U grading bulls, with €4.10/kg to €4.20/kg being paid for R grading bulls over 24 months.

Cow prices

Cows also remain unchanged, with €3.80/kg to €3.90/kg going for R grading cows.

U grading cows are hitting €4.00/kg if well fleshed, while O grading cows are working off €3.70/kg.

P grading cows are coming in at €3.60/kg to €3.65/kg in most factories this week.

The mart is still the place for small numbers of cows, as factory agents are still very active looking for fleshed cows to boost factory supplies.

Agents report farmers being very happy with kill-outs off grass so far and this could encourage more cattle out in the next few weeks while the price stays good.