This week's factory quotes sees the beef trade remaining on firm footing heading into the New Year.

The steady price offers this week and last week will be welcome news for farmers with finished cattle ready to sell after prices having been in decline for several weeks in late November and December.

Some factories are only killing cattle two days this week while other outlets will be taking in cattle four days this week with the exception of New Year's Day on Thursday, January 1.

Most outlets have the majority of their kill sheets filled for the week with pre-booked cattle.

Some procurement staff have said they are getting plenty of calls from farmers looking to book in cattle for early in the new year.

Factory quotes: Heifers and steers

This week, most offers are the same as last week with heifers being quoted at €7.30/kg on the grid and steers (bullocks) being quoted at €7.20/kg on the grid.

Some outlets' official quotes were 10c/kg below these levels for both this week and last week.

These offers remain approximately €1.60/kg above this time last year and despite the recent cuts to beef price, it has been a largely positive year overall for the beef trade.

Breed bonuses of up to 30c/kg remain available for in-spec Angus cattle and Hereford bonuses are generally ranging from 15-20c/kg.

Cows

Cow price offers have also held steady on last week with no chance in price offers.

'P' grade cows are being quoted at €6.50/kg with 6.60/kg being tabled for 'O' grade cows. 'R' grade cows are being quoted at €6.80-6.90kg again this week and 'U' grade cows are being quoted at €7.00/kg with premiums available in cases for these.

As was the case last week, some outlets are offering up to 20c/kg below these rates - showing the variation between outlets in cow price currently.

The table below shows the average 'O=3-' factory cow price paid, according to Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) figures:

Click here to view the beef price calculator and data on Agriland.

Plainer cows with fat scores below a '2+' or cows with carcass weights below 270kg will be quoted at lower prices.

Bulls

Under-24-month bulls are being quoted at €7.40-7.50/kg for 'U' grades again this week. 'R' grade bulls are being quoted at €7.30-7.40/kg.

'O' grade bulls are being quoted at €7.20/kg and 'P' grade bulls are being quoted at 7.00-7.10/kg.

Under-16-month bulls are being quoted at €7.10/kg on the grid this week.