The beef trade remains in a steady position this week, as thousands of farmers made their way to the National Ploughing Championships in Screggan, Co Offaly.

Factory agents had a lot of this week’s work done at the end of last week in terms of sourcing cattle, with more bite to the demand again this week.

There are mixed reports on numbers, with some agents claiming they have plenty of cattle on hand, while others are actively looking for cattle for the next few weeks.

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Bullocks are generally working off a base quote of €6.40/kg, with heifers being bought at €6.50/kg.

There have been finishers who have been able to get €6.50/kg for mixed loads of bullocks and heifers this week and there is a definite thought within the industry that quotes will kick on further in the coming weeks as attention turns to the Christmas trade.

Agents have the leeway to increase quotes when they have to, so the advice is still to sell hard and don’t accept opening quotes.

Traditional breeds are also in good demand, with a 20c/kg bonus generally being paid on in-spec cattle.

There are reports of some long delays in getting organic cattle killed, with some farmers reporting a two-month wait.

Bulls are also solid this week, with under-24-month U grading bulls coming in at €6.50/kg to €6.60/kg, with R grading bulls being bought at €6.40/kg to €6.50/kg.

Under-16-month bulls are working off a base price of €6.35/kg to €6.40/kg, but numbers are very small.

Cows

The cow trade hasn’t moved much this week either, with €6.50/kg available for well-fleshed R grading cows.

A price of €6.55/kg was paid for U grading cows this week, with specialist cow finishers on higher quotes.

The mart continues to be the place of choice for many smaller suckler farmers to offload cows, with factory agents going above what is available in factories when buying cows in marts.

O grading cows are working off a quote of €6.20/kg to €6.30/kg this week, with P+3 cows coming in at €5.90/kg to €6/kg, depending on weight and flesh cover.

Last week’s kill came in at a similar level to where it was the week before, with only minor movements.

Prices across the water in Britain continue on a steady trend, with supply and demand tentatively poised.

R4L bullocks are being bought at 613p/kg (€7.45/kg incl VAT). This puts the gap between the British and Irish price at around 80c/kg or just over €300/head on a 380kg carcase.

Prices north of the border have also steadied, with Northern Ireland-based finishers active in marts again in the south of Ireland buying up forward store cattle for an October and November finish.

Pressure continues to mount on the EU to issue a recall on Brazilian beef that was imported prior to the 3 September ban.

The IFA has insisted that the beef be recalled, but, as of yet, the authorities haven’t moved on the issue.

In August and early September, 16 consignments of poultry and four consignments of beef were rejected at EU ports. The beef was rejected for being poorly preserved, while the poultry was mainly rejected because of the presence of salmonella.

Consignments are checked on a risk-based approach. Not all consignments were checked. It’s understood that the EU has informed the Brazilian government that it will conduct an on-site audit of the Brazilian beef supply chain assessing the controls in place from birth to slaughter and it’s only when this audit takes place will Brazil be assessed for going back on to the approved EU import list. There is no date set for this audit.