Effect of rain on cattle supply may tip the beef market balance

Beef market report

Christy Morrissey from Athenry, Co Galway, who recently celebrated 50 years of cattle dealing in Castleisland Mart, pictured with Denis Lawlor and Joe Kearney, Castleisland. Picture: James Treacy

The beef trade is unchanged, with finishers resisting processor attempts to cut prices.

Any changes in returns to finishers are marginal, depending on the balance of supply and demand in each beef factory area.

However, the sharp deterioration in the weather over the past ten days, which delivered two storms and several inches of rain, swings the market balance in the processors’ favour, as ground conditions on farms deteriorate, after an excellent growing season for grass, which delivered good performance in grazing beef animals.

Some factories are quoting a base of 360 cents/kg for steers this week, but overall it is understood that most steers are going into the factories on a base of 365 cents/kg.

However, finishers looking for more are not meeting with much success.

With the change in the weather, and more cattle likely to become available to the factories, holding the base at 365 cents/kg will be a challenge for finishers over the coming weeks.

Heifer prices have eased a shade, and a percentage of heifers are now understood to be going through the plants at the same price as steers, on a 365 cents/kg base.

However, some finishers are getting 370 cents/kg for heifers.

Prices for young bulls now trail steer prices by as much as 15 cents/kg, with a base of 350 cents/kg for R-grade, and down to 340 cents/kg or under for O-grade.

Demand for young bulls remains low at the factories, with the throughput at around half the 2019 level and the market appetite for young bulls continuing weak.

Intake trend and cow trade remain steady 

The cow trade remains steady at last week’s prices of up to 320 cents/kg for the best of the R-grade cows, as a steady flow of cows to the factories continues.

O-grade cows are making 290-300 cents/kg, while P-grade are making from around 270 cents/kg.

Now that we are at the anniversary of the 2019 factory protests, with 1,114,043 animals processed up to the week ending August 16, the annual throughput has caught up with last year’s throughput.

The intake trend at the factories remained steady last week with 34,378 head processed, on a par with the same week in 2019.

There was a strong supply of steers at 16,928 head, which was 2,000 higher than the corresponding week last year.

There was little change in the supply of heifers at 9,168, while the cow supply at 6,104 was 400 head less than in 2019.

Young bulls continued at about half of the 2019 level, with 1,486 head processed last week.