17 December 2012

3 minute read

Europe

The additional 8p/kg bonus is also available for steers and heifers that kill out within specification. The quotes for cows have remained at 260-275p/kg with the plants reporting a strong supply of cows.

The throughput of prime cattle last week was 7,400 head, a decrease of 120 head on the previous week but 300 head more than the same week last year. Meanwhile the cow kill last week was similar to the previous week at 2,351 head. The cow kill for the last twelve weeks has been 19 per cent ahead of the corresponding period in 2011.

The average steer price in NI last week increased by 4.2p/kg to 327.9p/kg while the heifer price increased by 2.3p/kg to 329.2p/kg.

The young bull price increased by 4p/kg to 319.9p/kg.

Across Great Britain

Prices across the GB regions also generally improved with average heifer prices increasing across all the regions with the same trend apparent across the regions for steers with the exception of the Midlands where prices were back a penny to 358.2p/kg.

The GB R4 steer price last week was up 2.5p/kg to 369.5p/kg and the R4 heifer price was up by the same margin to 365.8p/kg. The prices paid for R4 steers and heifers increased across all the regions with the exception of the Midlands where prices were back in the region of 1- 2p/kg.

The differential last week between NI and the GB average for R4 steers was 38.2p/kg. The differential ranges from 30.4p/kg in the Midlands to 42.9p/kg in Scotland. A similar trend can be observed for R4 heifers across the regions.

Prices in ROI for prime cattle last week showed increases for all reported grades in the region of 2-3p/kg. The average R4 steer price increased by 3p/kg to the equivalent of 312.4p/kg, 18.9p/kg behind the NI price last week. The differential between ROI and NI was narrower for R4 heifers last week at 8.1p/kg.

Liveweight Mart Trade

The trade across the marts this week has been fairly similar to the previous week with a strong trade for finished cattle continuing. Finished first quality steers sold to an average of 194p/kg with plainer finished steers selling to 176p/kg. The trade for finished heifers was also similar to last week with first quality animals selling from 186- 210p/kg (av 190p/kg) and second quality heifers selling from 160-185p/kg (av 172p/kg).

The trade for strong store cattle has remained similar to previous weeks with first quality bullocks 400-500kg selling to 190p/kg with second quality bullocks in the same weight range selling to 165p/kg. First quality heifers over 450kg sold from 175-198p/kg (av 185p/kg) compared to 170-188p/kg (av 180p/kg) last week. Plainer type heifers in the same weight bracket sold from 145-174p/kg (av 160p/kg).

TheCattleSite News Desk