Beef & Sheep UpdateCattleSheep

Beef & Sheep Update 12th Feb

Cattle and Sheep in field, Wicklow, Ireland

Beef

At a meeting with MII on beef price cuts IFA Livestock Chairman Brendan Golden highlighted the level of farmer frustration at the attempts by factories to reduce prices and the increased production costs associated with finished cattle at this stage of the year. In addition, he said meal prices continue to rise. Brendan Golden said the situation is further compounded by the double standards applied by the EU when it comes to trade deals in comparison to the standards imposed on Irish and EU farmers. “Our key EU and UK markets continue to be undermined by imports from countries not meeting our production standards,” he said.

Beef Price Update 11/02/2021

Steer base €3.70/3.75kg. Heifers €3.70/3.80kg. Y Bulls R/U €3.60/3.80kg. Cows €2.90/3.40kg.

Supply Figures as Reported by DAFM  – Week 5 (01/02/2021)

AnimalNumberChange prev. wk.% of totalYTDYTD Change
Y Bulls3437▼-141 11%17771▼-6,815 
Bull328▼-42 1%1579▼-750 
Steer11172▲62437%54549▼-2,100 
Cow6028▼-483 20%31588▲1,036
Heifer9261▼-875 30%52123▼-3,181 
Veal-V202▲1781%280▲54
Veal-Z26▼-20 0%167▼-14 
Total30454▼-759 100%158057▼-11,770 

Official Irish Prices as Reported by DAFM – Week 5 (01/02/2021)

c/kg (Incl. VAT)U3Change prev. wk.R3Change prev. wk.O3Changeprev. wk.P+3Change prev. wk.
Steers415▲0404▲0389▲2358▲3
Heifers423▲0411▲2397▲1351▲1
Y Bulls396▲1384▲1372▲2361▲3
Cows0▲0346▲4321▲1310▲3

Official GB Prices as Reported by AHDB

SteersSteersHeifersHeifersY bullY bullCow
p/kgR3R4LR3R4LR3R4L-O4L
30.01.2021383.6387.1383386.1371.4361.5264.2
30.01.2021383387.2383386.9375.9375.9265.5
Change▼-1 ▲0▲0▲1▲5▲14▲1
Price in c/kg (Incl. VAT)459.6464.6459.6464.3451.1451.1318.6

Sheep

IFA National Sheep Chairman Sean Dennehy said the issue of new entrants to the Sheep Welfare Scheme must be resolved.  This follows the Minister’s success in securing 2017 as the reference year from the EU Commission for this year. Sean Dennehy said the objective must be to accurately reflect the levels of activity on farms.  New entrants in particular are not having their sheep numbers recognised. “The scheme conditions, which require new entrants to apply effectively within a year of starting, creates an anomalous situation that unfairly penalises them. This can and must be addressed in the Terms and Conditions of the scheme for 2021,” he said.

Lamb Price Update 11/02/2021

QA Hoggets €6.30/6.40kg paid. Higher deals for groups and larger lots. Ewes €2.80/3.10kg.

Supply Figures as Reported by DAFM – Week 5 (01/02/2021)

AnimalFigureChangeYTDYTD Change
Lambs/Hoggets33669▼-4,352 208806▼-13,082 
Spring Lambs0▲00▲0
Ewes and Rams4898▼-740 30285▼-6,160 
Light Lambs6▲613▲10
TOTAL38573▼-5,086 239104▼-19,232 

Official Irish Prices as Reported by DAFM – Week 5 (01/02/2021)

c/kg (Incl. VAT)WK 5 Change prev. wk2020Changeprev. yr
Avg Factory Price603.69▲24502.04▲102
Avg Mart Price532.78▲10429.88▲103
National Avg Price603.69▲24480.39▲123
YTD Avg588.87▲4477.28▲112

Official GB Prices as Reported by AHDB

R3L Overall SQQ*Type of lamb
30.01.2021560.3558.4Old season
06.02.2021542.5542.5Old season
Change▼-18 ▼-16 
Price in c/kg (Incl. VAT)651.0651.0

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