Processing for the August beef kill began in factories around the country this morning, Tuesday, August 3, with a 4-day kill this week following the bank holiday.
‘Same as last week’ was the phrase most procurement officers quoted when contacted by Agriland this morning regarding cattle quotes for the week ahead.
Generally speaking, quotes this week seem to be €4.25/kg on the grid for Quality Assured (QA), in-spec steers and €4.30/kg for heifers fitting the same criteria.
However, one processor is offering an additional 10c/kg for cattle killing out at carcass weights of between 300kg and 400kg, which would bring the base price for an in-spec steer or heifer in this dead-weight band up to a base of €4.30/kg and €4.35/kg respectively – adding subsequent grid bonuses afterwards.
Cow price
Meanwhile, on the cow-price front this week, quotes for R-grade cows appear to be coming in at around the €3.80/kg mark, with O-grade cows at €3.60 and P-grade cows at €3.50/kg flat price.
More money is likely on offer to regular suppliers of cows to factories and farmers with numbers of quality, well-fleshed cows, who may have scope to bargain on price on a case-by-case basis.
Bull price
Taking a look at bull prices, €4.20/kg on the grid seems to be the general run for under-16-month bulls, with bulls under-24 months-of-age are being quoted at flat prices of €4.15/kg and €4.25/kg for R and U-grade bulls respectively.
Again, an additional 10c/kg is on offer at one Donegal-based processing facility for bulls killing out at between 300kg and 400kg, bringing under-24-month bulls in this weight band up to a flat price of €4.25 and €4.35/kg for R and U grade bulls respectively.
August outlook
The general consensus at the moment is that beef price is looking set to be fairly steady into the coming weeks and the fact that prices have held considering the four day week this week in factories is a good indicator of a steady trade.
It is unlikely that cattle quotes will move forward or back more than 5c/kg in the coming weeks, however, in current times, this can not be said with absolute certainty.