Heifer prices in Northern Ireland are continuing to slide and the North has now dropped to fourth place on the EU deadweight league table.

For the week ending February 21, the average R3 heifer price in the North was the equivalent of 406.6c/kg, according to the Livestock and Meat Commission (LMC).

This is a drop of 6.9c/kg from the week ending January 24, 2016.

The heifer price in the North is dropping closer to the average price in the Republic each week.

For the week ending February 24, the average Irish heifer price was 398.3c/kg, down 0.7c/kg from the 399.0c/kg paid in the week ending January 24.

colored_box]This placed it 8.3c/kg lower than the equivalent price in Northern Ireland and 12.4c/kg above the EU average.

Meanwhile, Britain remains in second place on the heifer price league table. For the week ending February 21, the average R3 heifer price was the equivalent of 433.7c/kg.

This latest price is a decrease of 7.8c/kg compared to week ending 24 January when it was the equivalent of 441.5c/kg, according to the LMC.

The British/EU price differential narrowed from 55.8c/kg in the weekend January 24, to 47.8c/kg in the week ending February 21.

At EU level, the average R3 heifer price for the week ending was 385.9c/kg. The LMC says this price is up marginally from 385.7c/kg in the week ending January 21.

In currency news, the euro improved to €1=77.5p for the week ending February 21.

Heifer Price