Why is our beef industry so important?

A shortlist of 10 riders and 11 horses has been put together for Olympic consideration by Team Ireland Equestrian’s eventing high performance manager Ginny Elliot.

Tony Martin’s Dedigout puts his unbeaten record over timber on the line in the Slaney Novice Hurdle at Naas tomorrow.

ECONOMIC performance is higher on organic farms than on conventional farms.

Gagewell Flyer ran out an impressive winner of the Slaney Novice Hurdle at Naas in what was a mixed renewal of the Grade Two event for Willie Mullins.

Marts: Eight factories increased the prices paid for cattle for last week’s kill in a partial reversal of the sharp decline in the return to producers the previous week as the downturn in supplies continued.

Marts: While the upward trend in beef prices has been maintained, the pace of the increase has eased at the factories where average prices improved by 1-2c/kg last week.

Marts: Beef prices continued the upward trend, making gains of 1-3c/kg, while the rate of price increase eased at the factories for last week’s kill.

Marts: Beef prices came under pressure at the factories yesterday — the first sign of attempts by the processors to stall the upward trend of the year to date — with producers resisting cuts.

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 upward trend in beef prices has been maintained with gains of 4c-5c/kg (2p/lb) in the average price paid by the factories for stock for last weeks kill.

Marts: Four AIBP factories are among 10 plants countrywide which have increased prices by up to 3c/kg (1p/lb) as the intake at the factories tightens further.

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: Beef prices increased by an average of 3c/kg (1p/lb), while individual factories paid up to 6c/kg (2p/lb) more for cattle, despite an upward trend in supplies for last week.

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.

Marts: Producers with R grade cattle to sell are strongly resisting factory price cuts and processors are paying significantly more than the quoted prices for their supplies.

IT WAS hard to find a glimmer of hope for cattle farmers in a very disappointing beef trade at the factories this week, with prices on offer falling further.

Beef prices have continued the downward trend at the factories with further reductions as supplies exceeded demand at the processors yesterday.

The intake of bullocks dropped by 2,500 head after factories reduced prices by up to 6c/kg (2p/lb) last week with the heaviest losses in prices for the poorer graders.

Almost half of the factories paid less for R4L bullocks for last week's kill after a surge in supply to the highest weekly intake of bullocks in 2007 and the highest for the corresponding week since 2003.

THREE-MONTH analysis of the prices paid to farmers for beef animals shows that the margin of difference between factories for R4L bullocks was less than half of that for R4L heifers around the country.

Marts: Beef prices have made further gains to maintain parity with last year for bullocks and edge slightly higher than 2006 for heifers as the recovery of the market continues.

THE trade for beef remained very firm at the factories this week, retaining the recent recovery in prices, and adding a little more in some situations, as the supply of cattle slipped well behind this time last year.

Marts: As beef prices tightened at the factories for a second week, analysis of factory averages for the first two months of 2007 show smaller factories led the field within a narrow price variation nationally.

Beef prices were cut by an average of 1-3c/kg at the factories as the supply of cattle to the processing plants remained high at over 40,000 head slaughtered last week.

Marts: Beef prices made further gains at the factories as the supply of cattle slaughtered reached the seasonal peak with a throughput in excess of 40,000 head.

Marts: The supply of bullocks to factories has dropped by over 30% in a single-week landslide, as producers showed the strongest resistance ever to lower prices by cutting the flow of cattle.

Marts: Beef prices gained 2c/kg at the factories last week, setting an autumn record of rising prices for eight consecutive weeks which brought the average R-grade price to almost 105p/lb.

Marts: Everything about the beef trade is positive right now for producers with a further increase in prices paid by the factories as the supply of bullocks rising.

SLANEY FOODS achieved sales of close to €200 million in its last financial year as profits before tax rose to €3.7m, up from €2.6m a year earlier.

HALF of the factories paid more for cattle last week (some increased by almost 3p/lb), while the balance paid the same or slightly less than the previous week as the kill surged to a three-year high.

Marts: Euro Farm Foods took over the lead on prices for R grade bullocks in last week’s kill as the supply of cattle to the factories tightened further.

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: THERE was no change in the average price paid by factories for cattle last week, which in general returned 6c/kg (2p/lb) above the quoted prices to producers.

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

OXFORD trainer Terry Kibble bagged the top lot - Belindas Area - for €8,000 at the Curraheen Park sales yesterday.