Factories, feeders and shippers driving up mart prices for ordinary farmers
Although mart numbers are increasing and entries of bullocks under 600kg are respectable for the time of the year, heavier stock are scarce.
This hasn’t led to a massive improvement in their price, however, as buyers are aware that factory quotes have declined by 10-15c/kg over the last month.
Still, with the ringside tables showing the overall average price of 600kg+ steer largely unchanged at €2.71/kg and the better bullock up 2c/kg to €3.07/ kg, sellers are getting serious returns.
Numbers of heavy heifers are also not large. However, with factory and feeders keen, prices for the better-conformation animal improved last week. The quality 600kg+ heifer averaged €3.17/kg, pushing the overall average to €2.86/kg.
With heavy beef scarce at marts, cull cow trade improved last week (despite factory kills continuing to run strongly), with well-fleshed Friesians once again making 2.00-2.20/kg at many marts in the south, while in the west heavy quality suckler cows for killing cracked on in some cases to €3.00/kg and more.
With numbers still some way off the traditional highs associated with spring buying, the real story last week was the significant effect on the mart trade of export contracts for bullocks and weanlings. The majority of mart managers confirmed that the trade is stronger than might have been expected given the pull in factory prices combined with continuing wet conditions.
Several said the trade now has three significant types of buyers operating at most major marts.
At the heavy and forward end are the factories and bigger feeders; among the lighter cattle you have the shippers with their concentration on weanlings and light stores; and operating in between is your ordinary farmer.
They are largely excluded from buying forward types for finishing over the winter by the strength of feeders, feedlots and factories.
Spread out
Going into the spring many might have been planning to spread out their purchases among a certain number of forward types, but with a bigger concentration of numbers gleaned either as lighter stores or weanlings.
That changed somewhat last week as shippers increased their activity and moved into both of these arenas.
Gerry Sullivan in Macroom said his weanling trade was “exceptional” on the back of competition between farmers and shippers. Patsy Smith of Dowra mart also noted increased shipper activity, with quality bulls under 400kg making up to €4.00/kg.
Near the border, the trade was further strengthened by increased activity by Northern buyers.
Among the shippers buying at marts
are Viastar from Westmeath, whose representative told me they are currently sourcing Friesian bulls and bullocks from 300-500kg for the North African market, and a separate contract to the same region could see them interested
in continental bulls from 300-800kg.
While farmer buyers were finding the going tougher last week, many in the trade believe that there are considerable numbers of stores still on farms with their owners waiting for the weather
to improve so as to tempt out more traditional grass finishers.
History supports the idea that when that happens, getting numbers is a bigger concern for many farmers than what they actually cost.