Factory prices for beef cattle this week are – generally speaking – being quoted to farmers at the same level as last week. However, with prime cattle not overly plentiful, some farmers are managing to negotiate better deals on price.
While farm lobby groups have argued there is scope for further beef-price rises and Bord Bia’s Cattle Price Dashboard shows the Irish R3 steer price as of December 4, is lagging behind the EU average, processors appear to be securing supplies of cattle at current prices and will be reluctant to rise base prices until at least after Christmas.
Despite this, procurement staff remain extremely keen to secure available batches of well-finished cattle in all categories but in particular, the heifer and steer categories.
Many farmers are using the processors’ eagerness to secure cattle to their advantage and are offering groups of finished cattle to procurement staff on the condition a flat-price deal is agreed in advance.
This means an agreed price per kilo is paid on all cattle in the group and any grade-associated deductions which would be incurred in a grid-price payment would not be applied to the farmers’ cattle.
In times where cattle are plentiful, procurement staff tend to steer clear of such deals. However, in the current market, they appear more willing to give farmers a flat price for their cattle.
Where in-spec Angus cattle are involved – even if only a few – farmers should remember their cattle become even more appealing to procurement staff.
A stipulation many farmers selling cattle in a flat price deal will specify is that if their cattle happen to score a grade that would be eligible for a higher price per kilo than the given flat price, it would be paid on the respective carcass.
Before agreeing a fixed flat price farmers should have a good idea of the grade of their cattle and the price they would secure if sold ‘on the grid’.