Factories to tighten upward trend

Marts: The indications that the factories were anxious to tighten the upward price trend for beef has been confirmed in the farmer pay sheet returns for last week’s kill.

But while the intentions of the processors became apparent — some factories reducing the average price slightly while others paid a little more — the overall average for R4L bullocks continued to increase, if only by a margin of 1c/kg to 105.3p/lb

The trade for heifers fared a little better recording an average of almost 106p/lb for R4L and a top individual factory price of almost 111p/lb paid by Kepak at Clonee while AIBP also emerged as very strong contenders for heifers at Waterford, Nenagh and Bandon.