Factory quotes for this week have held firm on prime cattle, while it seems quotes for cows are coming in short of last week’s prices.
While factory demand remains strong from processors for all types of cattle this week, factories seem to be filling kill sheets with a little more ease and this can be contributed to a number of factors.
The mild weather conditions into the autumn helped boost grass growth and store cattle that were getting good grass allocations seem to have done a good thrive into the later end of the grazing season.
Many farmers likely opted to push store heifers on to the factory before their second winter housing.
After factory prices holding all summer and autumn, cow quotes seem to have come back 10c/kg this week – ironically the week following the ICBF deadline for 50% of the herd’s referenced number of females, aged over 16-months, genotyped either 4 or 5 stars on the Replacement Index.
Starting with heifers and €4.20/kg on the grid is the general run of things this week, with €4.25/kg available on the higher end of the scale.
Next up is steers and €4.15/kg on the grid seems to be where bullock price is this week, again with €4.20/kg available on the higher end here.
Looking at cows now and after a good year for cow price, a few processors have moved to pull quotes this week by between 10-15c/kg.
Despite this, some factories have held cows at the same levels as last week; but to secure a booking of cows at the same price as last week could prove to be a bit more tricky.
A flat price of €3.50, €3.60 and €3.70/kg seems to be the general run this week for P, O and R-grade cows respectively, with 10c/kg more to be got for a U-grade cow.
There seems to be more variation in cow price this week and farmers who price a few processors before turning out cows will notice a 10-15c/kg variation in cow quotes this week.
Well-fleshed cows are still in high demand and factories will likely pay more for heavy, fleshed cows, securing a plus in their respective grades – so long as they are not over-fat.
For under-24 month bulls, quotes are coming in at €4.10 and €4.20/kg for R and U grade bulls, with some processors paying up to €4.00/kg for O-graders, indicating more may be available for R’s and U’s.
Finally, under-16 month bulls seem to be coming in at €4.15/kg on the grid again.