Beef market report: Processors pay more to get through lean period

The tightening in the supply of cattle to factories over recent weeks has delivered a price improvement for beef farmers.

The overall average being paid for both steers and heifers is showing an increase of around 5 cents/kg this week, with steer prices appearing to have benefited slightly more than heifer prices.

Quoted prices for steers are now on a base of at least 400 cents/kg, with some sellers securing up to 405 cents/kg as a base this week.