This week’s factory quotes sees prices for all categories of beef cattle remain firm as the weekly supply of cattle (excluding veal) has fallen for three consecutive weeks up to the week ending Sunday, March 12.
Last week’s kill figures are not yet available but the supply of beef cattle will likely have continued to decline given the four-day kill at most sites last week due to St. Patrick’s Day.
A number of outlets have perked their interest in both under-24-month and under-16-month bull beef over the past two weeks.
Foyle Food Group is now active for under-16-month bulls and is paying €5.20/kg on the grid for these. A 16c/kg Quality Payment System (QPS) bonus plus a 10c/kg weight bonus is also available for bulls in this category.
Other factories across the country have been sending agents out to farms with plenty of buying power where groups of finished dairy or beef-breed bulls are available.
The graph below shows the weekly kill of heifers, steers, cows, bulls and young bulls processed at Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM)-approved factories over the past 12 weeks:
In the week ending Sunday, March 12, the top price paid for O+2+ young bulls was €5.30/kg, according to official figures from DAFM, available here on Agriland.
Factory quotes: Heifer and steer price
Most outlets are quoting €5.20/kg and €5.25/kg on the grid for steers and heifers respectively this week. €5.30/kg on the grid is available for steers and €5.35/kg on the grid is available for heifers on the higher-end of the price scale this week.
Breed bonuses are available on suitable Angus and Hereford heifers and steers ranging from 10c/kg to 30c/kg .
Cow price
Quotes for cows have remained relatively steady with prices being actually paid for cows being substantially higher in some cases.
64.6% of all cows processed in week 10 of this year graded a P; the majority of cows slaughtered this year have been this grade.
Most outlets are quoting €4.50-4.60/kg for P-grade cows this week with 10c/kg more available in some cases. P-grade cows that are short fleshed or have carcass weights below 270kg will be priced at a lower rate.
€4.70/kg is being quoted for O-grade cows with €4.90/kg and €5.00/kg on offer for R- and U-grade cows.
Good cows grading U, R and O are in low supply, so farmers with these type of cows to sell will be in the driving seat to negotiate on price.
Bulls
As mentioned above, there is plenty of interest out there for bull beef and many farmers are managing to secure good flat-price deals well over and above what factories are actually quoting.
Under-24-month-old U-grade bulls are being quoted at flat prices ranging from €5.35-5.40/kg, with €5.25-5.35/kg being quoted for R-grade bulls.
Bulls grading an O and P are being quoted at €5.15/kg and €5.05/kg respectively, with flat-price deals being secured by some farmers at price levels substantially higher than this.
Finally, under-16-month bulls are being quoted at €5.20-5.30/kg on the grid.