Fat cattle at €70-80 per head behind peak prices

There has been further downward pressure on prices at beef factories for this week.

Intake edged up slightly in recent weeks, and cattle farmers accused processors of taking advantage of the difficult weather conditions on farms to reduce prices, despite supplies remaining at historically low levels.

Quoted prices for this week have eased by 3-5 cent/kg (1p-2p/lb) for steers and heifers, and farmers are feeling the pinch after paying very high prices for forward stores, which have performed poorly on many farms due to bad weather.