This week's factory quotes see strengthening prices as factories pay above quotes with the Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA) saying to "sell hard".

According to IFA National Livestock Committee chair Declan Hanrahan, factories are "actively looking for cattle, and giving more than what they are quoting".

Many factories have reduced the number of animals in the weekly kill due to continuing limited availability over the past few weeks.

Hanrahan added that despite small mart sales at this time of year, prices seem to be powering ahead.

Heifers are being quoted at between €7.30-€7.40/kg by the factories this week, with only two processors offering below €7.30/kg.

Steer base price has remained steady at €7.20-€7.30/kg this week, while two processors dropped their prices, with one now offering €7.00 /kg. This is 20c/kg behind base price.

Bonuses of 12c/kg apply to steers and heifers under 30-months grading 'O-' in addition to animals with a fat class of four+ as long as the animals meets all other in-spec criteria.

Bonuses of 20c/kg remain in place for in-spec steers under-30 months-of-age, while an 8c/kg bonus applies to in-spec steers from 30-36 months-of age.

Suppliers are reported to be securing higher prices than quoted for heifers and steers in each grade.

Cows remained steady on last week's factory quotes of €6.50-€7.20/kg.

However, farmers are reporting selling cows for above quoted prices to factories as well as heifers and steers.

‘U’ grade cows are being quoted at€7.10-€7.20/kg while at the other end, ‘P’ grade cows are being quoted at €6.40-€6.50/kg.

Under-24-month bulls with 'U' grades are quoted at €7.40-€7.60/kg, while at the far side 'P' grade bulls remain at €7.10/kg.

According to Bord Bia, in the first six months of 2025, 656,185 cattle were processed, which is a 1.8% increase in comparison to the same time-frame last year.