‘Strength of trade’ brings out cattle
SOME argue that the current good run of cattle prices and numbers at marts reflects the improved factory trade while others think its farmers’ fixation with having enough stock to keep their farms adequately grazed. The latter would explain the strong prices of younger lighter stock in particular.
But Carrick-on-Suir auctioneer John Curran has a slightly different theory.
“We would not normally expect the run of cattle we are getting at present and to some degree you have to think that it’s the strength of the trade that is bringing the cattle out,” he said. It’s not a bad summary and it’s the one a majority of mart mangers I have spoken to in the last week agree with.
All that said, it is noticeable that the ringside averages for last week among the bullocks and heifers shows a lot of downward movement.
First let’s look at the categories that are either unchanged or improved. Beginning with the 500-599kg bullock that remained unchanged at €2.22/ kg or from €1,110-1,330/hd. This is the fourth week in succession that this section has been the most consistent performer as buyers seek the animal that will drive on and offer the best prospects of finishing off grass.
Another repetition is the fall for the 400-499kg animal, which dropped by 3c/kg or €12-15/hd bring his two-week cumulative dip to 8c/kg, €3240/hd.
Returning to better news, the over 600kg bullock improved by 6c/kg to sit on an average of €2.17/kg, while his over 600kg sister also rose, putting on 9c/ kg to sit on €2.31/kg.
The difference can largely be attributed to the fact that traditionally the “fresh” meat market here and in the UK generally deals almost exclusively in heifer beef, which gives it more immediacy than steer beef and also a better starting price.
The reason why both are up is supply. Supplies of finished stock remain tight both here and in the UK. Prices here are now on a base of €4.10/kg for bullocks and €4.20 for heifers.
Looking at the mini mart reports you will see that cull cows, which are the bottom rung of the beef ladder for the processing sector, also had a good week ringside as factory agents drove even Friesians into €2/kg. This made it inevitable that any bullock or heifer that was close to being factory fit also had to improve.
Among the lighter bullocks the 300-399kg animal recorded an average fall of 8c/kg, or €24-32/hd, while the 350399kg heifer dropped 2c/kg or €7-8/hd.
Why the lighter bullock dropped so much is an interesting question. Returning to what John Curran said at the start of this piece about the price bringing out stock, that scenario only works if there are also enough buyers. Extra Friesian types turned up at some marts last week, no doubt brought out by those good prices. But as Kilkenny auctioneer George Chandler said, a lot of men who would normally be in the mix for these types of animals were absent ringside because of the good weather.
“The trade is affected by the weather and last week the Friesian buyers were at silage, simple as that,” he said.
Turning to the weanlings, there continues to be uncertainty surrounding the live export trade that has seen prices fluctuate over the last month.
Last week average bull prices were fairly stable at €2.48/kg for the 100-299kg animal. That’s up 3c/kg, while the 300-399kg bull also rose 3c/kg to €2.33/kg. Yet the lighter 100-299kg heifer rose 25c/kg to €2.90, a €25-75 gain, while the 400-550kg heifer rose 17c/kg. But bear in mind that she was down 25c/kg two weeks ago.