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Factory prices paid for cull cows during the first six months of 2024 are down 48p/kg for O3-grading animals when compared to the previous year.
Based on weekly price reports published by the Livestock and Meat Commission (LMC), O3 cows have averaged 339.4p/kg from January to June.
That is down from the 387.6p/kg paid over the same period last year, wiping £168 off the value of a 350kg carcase processed at local plants.
For R3-grading cows, prices averaged 362.6p/kg over the first half of 2024, down 45p/kg on the 2023 equivalent.
Prime cattle
In contrast to cull cows, there is a much smaller differential on factory prices for prime cattle when compared year on year.
Steers at U3 conformation averaged 484.2p/kg over the first half of 2024, with heifers on 485p/kg and young bulls on 471.8p/kg.
Last year, prices across all three cattle groups averaged 486.6p/kg, 487.3p/kg and 476p/kg respectively for U3 grades. A small price gap of around 1.5p to 2p/kg exists on R3-grading animals.
Live trade
In the marts, good-quality, slaughter-fit steers sold during the second quarter of 2024 have averaged 290p/kg, 8p/kg more than the equivalent figure for the first quarter of the year. Heifers have increased by 6p to average 283p/kg.
Those prices are down on last year with steers running 11p/kg below 2023 levels, with heifers back 3p/kg.
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