Supply of steers falls more than 20%

THERE is a more positive tone to the beef trade, from the point of view of cattle farmers.

At the factories, the best gains are in prices for the poorer grading cattle, which were hardest hit during the recent price slump, and had the most ground to recover.

Official quotes for O grade stock have improved by as much as 8 cents/kg (3p/lb), while the quotes for R and U grades have gone up 3 cents/kg (1p/lb) at most factories, and quotes for cows have gained as much as 6 cents/kg (2p/lb).