A noticeable trend in marts over the past few weeks is that cattle buyers who would generally be active at the store cattle ring at this time of the year are keeping a closer eye on the calf ring as many of the seven-month buyers of cattle are struggling to secure cattle at the current price rates.

One of the key eligibility requirements of the Areas of Natural Constraints (ANC) and the Areas of Specific Constraint (ASC) schemes is that farmers must maintain a minimum stocking density of 0.10 livestock units per forage hectare for 28 consecutive weeks within the calendar year.

Farmers operating this type of system are often referred to as '7-month men' or 'seven-month cattle buyers' and generally buy their store cattle in March or April to go straight to grass. These cattle are then subsequently either finished as beef or sold at the mart as forward-store cattle in October or November.

Farmers in this type of system have the benefit of not having to winter cattle - which is a costly exercise - and also benefit from a grass-based thrive on their cattle during the summer months which comes at a lower cost than feeding silage and concentrates over the winter.

Most years, cattle prices would only ever rise by anywhere from 20-50c/kg (carcass weight) from November to March/April, a price differential most seven-month cattle buyers could manage.

This year, factory quotes for bullocks (steers) have increased from €5.00/kg in early October 2024 (when many of these seven-month customers would have been selling cattle) to approximately €6.75-6.80/kg base price this week (when many seven-month customers would be going out to buy cattle) a significant differential of as high as €1.80/kg and more in cases.

Farmers selling cattle at the current price rates are better-able to compete for cattle currently being sold as they are receiving a higher rate for their factory cattle therefore are better able to afford to pay a higher rate to replace these with store cattle.

This is pushing many of these '7-month buyers' down into buying lower weights but with highly-competitive prices in these lower weight categories also, and no guarantee on where beef price will be this autumn, securing cattle for 7-month systems is proving to be a significant challenge this year.