Sunshine may stop price slide in its track

Steers Heifers Cull Cows Young Bulls THE rising mercury levels may deliver an unexpected boon for the cattle trade.

The sunshine is mentioned in advance of actual quotes because although beef prices have fallen over the last three weeks I do believe given the time of year it might not take an awful lot to slow up supply and stop the price slide dead in its track.

As it is, prices have again taken a hit largely on the back of recent kill figures that show the 30,000 per week figure as being breeched.

Bullocks are being quoted as low as €3.80/kg but the general acceptance is nothing is being sold for less than €3.85/kg with €3.90/kg still possible, according to the IFA’s Angus Woods.

Heifers similarly are back by 5-10c/kg at €3.90-4.00/kg.

Young bulls are still trading at €3.90/kg for Us with an attempts being made by some plants to get them down to €3.85/kg meeting heavy resistance. Allowing that they stick at €3.90/kg, that puts Rs in at €3.80-3.85/kg with Os on 3.70-3.75/kg.

Moving to the cows their prices remain under pressure as their numbers continue to rise with Bord Bia figures showing numbers slaughtered for the week ending July 9 as being just under two hundred off 8,000, which means the figure for cull cow slaughtering this year is 4,538 ahead of last year.

This has seen prices this week for cows slightly down on last week with Ps, depending on cover, at €2.80-2.90/kg, with Os on €2.90-3.00/kg and Rs varying from €3.15-3.20/kg. As with anything some factories are keener than others given their contract situation.

A note of concern was men- tioned by one agent who had heard rumours that with milk prices on the floor both here and on the continent some of our farming cousins over there may be thinking of culling more cows than normal as the year goes on.

Cow cull

If this was to happen any increase in cow slaughtering would be due to the fact that milk production in Europe is often an indoors business with associated higher feeding costs thus reducing numbers will cut costs while at the same time generate a separate cash stream, all be it a once off payment.

Bord Bia reports that the cattle trade remains relatively steady, with further fluctuation in exchange rates and stronger supplies of manufacturing beef across Europe.

The issue of the beef forum continues to exercise ICMSA’s president John Comer, who again called for the “industry” to take calls for a review of the current grid to be taken seriously at the meeting on July 21.

Especially in light of the fact that live exports are already 30,000 less than last year which leaves the possibility of further factory price cuts very much a possibility once we hit into the autumn.

While ICMSA are traditionally viewed as a dairyman’s organisation the progeny from the dairy sector comprises almost half the cattle killed in this country much to the chagrin of continental breeds.

Ironic then, that our green grass image is built on specialist grazing stock such as Friesians, Hereford’s and Angus from the dairy herd, not the so called “better bullock”.