Marts: There have been further gains in beef prices at the factories as the supply tightens and processors come under more pressure to get cattle to supply orders.

Marts: There was a slight drop in the average price paid for beef by the factories — but the overall change was marginal — for a reduced kill last week.

Marts: It has been a disappointing week for beef producers, during which the average price dropped 3 cent/kg (1p/lb), the largest decline in several weeks.

Marts: The upward trend in beef prices is continuing, adding a further 3c-4c/kg to the average being paid for stock by the factories.

Marts: Factories paid 5c-7c/kg (2p/lb) more for cattle, under pressure to get sufficient stock last week, as producers held out for higher returns before parting with animals.

Marts: The supply of bullocks to the factories increased to more than 20,000 head after the processors increased prices by up to 5c/kg (2p/lb) last week.

BEEF prices have dropped by an average of 1c-2c/kg at the factories as the supply of cattle is maintained well above average for August. However, but the actual price paid held 3c-6c/kg (1p-2p/lb) higher than the officially quoted rates by the processors.

Marts: Such has been the demand for cattle at the factories over the past week that an increase of over 4,000 in the supply of bullocks failed to deter the average price gaining a further 1 cent/kg — the third consecutive week of price gains.

Marts: The decline in average beef prices at the factories has almost bottomed out, as the intake of cattle shows the first signs of shrinking but the factories continued to pay a margin of up to 3c/kg (1p/lb) over the official quotes.

A WOMAN was arrested yesterday in connection with the murder of a man in Co Tipperary.

As the processors tightened their grips on prices the return on R4L bullocks fell slightly at a number of the plants last week, in an unwelcome signal for producers who increased supply by a further 1,300 head to almost 35,000 head.

As prices continued unchanged last week, returns for the first five weeks of 2007 show a narrowing of the price range for beef animals at the factories to less than 6 cents/kg (2p/lb) dividing the highest and the lowest.

Marts: A sharp decline in prices paid for beef animals has been the processors’ response to an increase in the supply, which hit a four-year high last week.

Marts: Producer resistance to lower prices for beef is continuing to win the battle against lower quoted prices at the factories, where the changes in overall returns for last week — albeit lower — were minimal.

Marts: While a few factories increased prices for R4L bullocks by almost 3 cents/kg (1p/lb), one-in-three factories paid lower returns or maintained the previous weeks level as processors reacted to the rising trend last week.

PRICE swings of up to 1p/lb at factories balanced to give an overall average for R4L bullocks marginally lower for last week.

Marts: Factories reduced the prices paid to producers for beef by 1p-2p/lb, ending weeks of speculation as to when the upward spiral on returns to beef farmers would come to an end.

Marts: There was a slightly harder tone to the prices at the factories for beef last week, but the margin of increased return was selective and light, very much dependent on location.

THERE was further slight slippage in the prices paid by factories to producers for beef last week with the averages down by around 0.5p/lb to 1p/lb and the fall registering across the scale of grades and factories from the highest paying to the weakest payers.