Cow beef the best bet at factories

Marts: An improvement of 3 cent/kg (1p/lb) in cow beef prices has contrasted sharply with a cut of 3 cent/kg (1p/lb) in prices for prime beef at the factories, further narrowing the margin in price between the two categories.

The farmer paysheet returns from the factories for last week’s kill has shown that over 83p/lb was paid for R grade cull cows at Ashbourne Meats, Roscrea, while some factories paid just over 87p/lb for R3 grade heifers, narrowing the margin between cow beef and prime heifer beef to its lowest-ever. The top price for cows was 8p/lb under the national average paid for R3 heifers at 91p/lb.

For the same week in 2003 there was a difference of 17p/lb between the top price paid for R grade cows and the national average for R3 grade heifers - more than double the present margin - and while suppliers of cull cows are not going to complain about the higher price, finishers of beef heifers and bullocks are baffled as to why beef prices are being slashed.