The official Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB) Scottish beef price is the highest on record at £4.25/kg for an R4L steer, which is a rise of 7p/kg.

Same-grade heifers were £4.26/kg, which is up 6p on the week. The young bull price is up 6p/kg to £4.13/kg.

Prices in Scotland are around 11p/kg more than the GB average, which is £4.13/kg for an R4L steer.

Farmers are being offered £4.15 to £4.20/kg as a base price for R grade steers. But some premiums for Angus and Shorthorns will push prices closer to £4.50/kg.

Finished cows were reported by the AHDB at £3.03/kg for an 0-4, which is up 3p/kg on the week.

Across marts in Scotland, cull cows averaged £1.50/kg, a rise of 5p, with 526 sold through marts.

Store cattle

Thainstone sold 1,518 store cattle last Friday, with steers averaging £2.59/kg, down 9p/kg, and heifers £2.51/kg, down 12p/kg.

The sale also include 37 organic steers which sold for an average of £2.64/kg and 35 organic heifers which averaged £2.60 with a top price of £1,350/head.

United Auctions in Stirling sold 2,088 stores, with steers averaging £2.51/kg, down 5p, and heifers £2.44/kg, down 7p. They also sold cows with calves at foot for £1,720 to £2,100 per outfit.

Dumfries Mart sold 458 store cattle, with steers averaging £2.49/kg and heifers averaging £2.37/kg.

£7/kg hogget trade

Scottish abattoirs are paying farmers £7/kg for R grading hoggets up to 21kg.

Prices cooled around 5p to 10p/kg in the live ring, with Monday’s sales at Ayr, Lanark and St Boswells all averaging £2.97/kg to £3.15/kg and Tuesday’s sales just over at £3/kg.

Last Thursday, United Auctions at Stirling sold 3,836 hoggets, which averaged £3.10/kg and 60 spring lambs which averaged £3.56/kg.

Across Scotland, the average for the week ending 17 April was £3.12/kg, back 2p/kg for medium-weight hoggets. Spring lamb averaged £3.50/kg, but numbers are still very small.

The AHDB price for across GB for the same week was £6.84/kg for an R3L carcase, which is up 36p/kg.

The kill across the UK still around 25,000.

The ewe price in Scotland is £99/head, which is down £10 on the week for just over 3,100 sold.

Thainstone sold 59 old-season store lambs, with a top price of £110/head.

Lanark Mart sold 150 motherless lambs last week, which averaged £7.36/lamb, which is down £3 on the week.

Fodder sale

Carlisle Mart held a fodder sale this week where mini Heston bales of wheat sold at £28/bale and £135/t. Rolled barley was selling for £175/t.