Improvement in cull cow prices

Marts: Cull cow prices improved by a further 6-9 cent/kg (2p-3p/lb) at the factories while cattle prices showed a slight recovery for the poorer grades as supplies tightened yesterday.

This is the third consecutive week of improvement in cull cow prices with a base price of up to 207 cent/kg (74p/lb) quoted for heavy cows and up to 28 cent/kg (10p/lb) more being paid by some of the top paying factories for quality heavy cows grading R as the lift in the trade for cow beef continues. The supply of cull cows to the factories is around 7,000 head per week, more than 10% down on the same time last year.

Although there were fewer enquiries to the factories yesterday from cattle farmers and the processors prepared for a lighter kill for the week, there was a reluctance by the processors to increase prices to get additional cattle, believing that supplies will increase over the coming weeks as more cattle come close to 30 months.