This week's factory quotes see beef prices remain largely steady on last week but remaining approximately €1.10/kg below this time last year.

The final week of August 2025 saw approximately €7.50/kg on the grid tabled for steers versus the final full week of August this year, which has seen approximately €6.40/kg on the grid tabled for steers.

The €1.10/kg price differential equates to €440/head on a 400kg carcass-weight steer, or over €3,500 on a pen of eight of these cattle.

Also of note to the trade is that Brazilian beef will be prohibited from entering the EU from Thursday, September 3, but will continue to be allowed into the UK for now.

It will be interesting to see the impact of this ban on the price and demand for Irish beef.

Factory quotes: Heifers and steers

This week, heifers are generally being quoted at €6.40-€6.55/kg on the grid, and the higher offers are more common again this week.

Steers (bullocks) are being quoted at €6.30-€6.40/kg on the grid, with the higher offers are being paid more commonly for in-spec steers this week.

€6.50/kg on the grid is available in the north-west for in-spec steers with 300-400kg carcass-weights.

The latest official prices paid by factories are available to view here.

Angus and Hereford breed bonus changes are set to be introduced at ABP and Kepak sites in two weeks' time from Monday, September 7.

Weekly kill numbers have increased in recent weeks but despite this, the overall kill-to-date this year is still over 5.5% or over 58,000 head below last year.

Cow price

Several of the stronger cow buying outlets are continuing to quote prices up to 20c/kg higher than the outlets less keen for cows.

'P' grade cows are being quoted at €5.90/kg again this week but other outlets are offering €5.70/kg for 'P' grade cows.

'O' grade cows are being quoted at €6.00/kg, and again, some of the lower offers are coming in at €5.80-€5.90/kg.

'R' grade cows are being quoted at €6.20/kg, and 'U' grade cows are being quoted at €6.30/kg, with some outlets offering prices 20c/kg below these rates.

As always, heavy fleshed cows scoring a '3' or above in flesh and with a carcass-weight above 270kg will qualify for the higher price rates, while plainer, lighter, short-fleshed cows will be priced at lower rates.

Bulls

Under-24-month bulls are being quoted at €6.70/kg for 'U' grades, with €6.60/kg tabled for 'R' grade bulls again this week.

'O' grade bulls are being quoted at €6.40/kg and 'P' grade bulls are being quoted at €6.30/kg.

Some outlets are tabling offers slightly below these for bulls this week.

Under-16-month bulls are being quoted at €6.40/kg on the grid.