Cattle supply increase puts damper on Christmas trade

A further increase in the supply of cattle to the factories has eased pressure on processors to pay more this week.

Intake at the plants hit 33,200 head last week, the highest weekly kill to date in 2015, and coming to within a few thousand head of the peak throughput of last autumn.

Excellent weather in October, favourable ground conditions on farms, and a flush of grass, seem to have delayed the autumn peak supply which is only now coming through to factories.