2021: An exceptional year on all counts - including beef prices

Eight Hereford-cross bullocks born March '21 with an average weight of 230kg sold for €580 each at a sale in Corrin Mart, Fermoy, earlier this month. Picture: O'Gorman Photography.

Into the final days of 2021, the year will be remembered by livestock farmers for the strength of market prices throughout a year, which began with serious concern of a possible downturn in the trade.

January 1, 2021, marked the end of the UK’s transition period from the EU, with serious concerns for the future of a market that accounted for around 52% of Irish beef exports.