Beef & Sheep UpdateCattleCattle PricesSheepSheep Prices

Beef & Sheep Update 13th February

Sheep and Cattle in Wicklow

IFA President Francie Gorman said farmers would be astonished that the Chair of Bord Bia is not part of the relevant QA Scheme for his own business. This is the core issue that we have raised in the last four weeks. Farmers will rightly ask why they have to comply with QA Schemes, but the Chair of Bord Bia decided it didn’t apply to him. The fact that their website incorrectly said Dawn Farm Foods had QA, and this had to be corrected, raises some questions about the credibility of Bord Bia,” he said. He said the IFA protest at Bord Bia will continue until the Chair is removed. It’s three weeks since the emergency board meeting. It’s quite clear now that board members were not given all the information from the Chair about how his imports of Brazilian beef and poultry; his Origin Green status; and his QA status. Dawn Farm Foods is not a member of the relevant Bord Bia Quality Assurance Scheme, the Food Processor Standard, which is an extraordinary situation,” he said.Bord Bia also has questions to answer. The ongoing dispute means that farmer confidence has been badly damaged. Farmers do not want to be protesting at Bord Bia, and certainly not at this time of year. But they feel they have no choice because of the cavalier way the Chair has approached the QA scheme,” he said.

Beef Price Update 12/02/2026

Base Steer €7.00/7.20kg. Heifers €7.10/7.30kg. Higher deals for larger and specialist lots. Y Bulls R/U €7.20/7.50Kg. Cows €6.30/7.00kg.

Supply Figures as Reported by DAFM – WK 06 (08.02.2026)

AnimalNumberChange prev wk% of totalYTDYTD Change
Y Bulls3,015▼-511 10%18,806▼-489 
Bull295▼-4 1%1,617▼-229 
Steer10,521▲81435%59,657▼-10,617 
Cow7,004▼-312 23%36,925▼-10,063 
Heifer9,465▼-418 31%58,468▼-9,476 
Veal-V6▼-2 0%87▼-68 
Veal-Z132▼-35 0%920▲298
Total30,438▼-468 100%176,480▼-30,644 

Official Irish Prices as Reported by DAFM – WK 06 (08.02.2026)

c/kg (Incl. VAT)U3Change prev wkR3Change prev wkO3Change prev wkP+3Change prev wk
Steers745▼-6 741▼-1 734▼-1 702▲2
Heifers760▲2748▼-1 742▲1688▼-5 
Y Bulls746▲2735▲1720▲4711▲5
Cows0▲0700▲0661▲1646▲0

Official GB Prices as Reported by AHDB

 SteersSteersHeifersHeifersY bullY bullCow
p/kgR3R4LR3R4LR3R4L-O4L
31/01/2026644.1648.1643647.2632.2630.1533.7
07/02/2026641.1644.5640.9645.3624.6608.9531.5
Change▼-3 ▼-4 ▲0▼-2 ▼-8 ▼-21 ▼-2 
Price in c/kg (Incl VAT)787.2791.4787.0792.4767.0747.7652.6

Euro Price for the Most Recent Week  (€/KG Deadweight excl. VAT)

Country & Type03.02.202401.02.202531.01.2026
EU + Y Bulls€ 5.19€ 6.05€7.11
IE + Steers€ 5.02€ 5.86€ 7.36
UK + Steers € 5.78€ 7.14€7.38

Live Cattle Exports 26th January


Sheep Update

IFA Sheep Chairman Adrian Gallagher said factories must start reflecting the realities of the marketplace with higher prices for hogget’s. He said trade in the UK for old season lamb has improved in the past week rising by almost 25p/kg and prices in France remain strong at over €9.90kg.  Supplies of suitably finished hogget’s are tight on the ground and factories are very anxious for lambs to fill orders for the upcoming Ramadan festival despite their negative propaganda.  Adrian Gallagher said farmers should not be misled by factories or their agents on sheep markets, prices are rising and supplies are projected to be tight here and across or key export destinations in the coming weeks. He said factories must immediately reflect the market conditions we are selling into with stronger prices to sheep farmers.

Lamb Price Update 12/02/2026

Lambs €7.80/8.05kg. Weights to 23kg. Higher deals groups/larger lots. Ewes €4.40/5.00/kg.

Supply Figures as Reported by DAFM – WK 06 (08.02.2026)

AnimalFigureChangeYTDYTD Change
Lambs/Hoggets33,090▼-572 174,898▼-7,932 
Spring Lambs0▲032,697▲15,419
Ewes and Rams3,209▼-83 18,988▲448
Light Lambs0▲00▼-13 
TOTAL36,299▼-655 226,583▲7,922

Official Irish Prices as Reported by DAFM – WK 06 (08.02.2026)

c/kg (Incl. VAT)This week Change prev. wk2025Change prev. yr
National Avg Price741.77▼-1 864.52▼-123 
YTD Avg847.95▼-2 877.27▼-126 

Official GB Prices as Reported by AHDB

 R3L Overall SQQ*Type of lamb
31/01/2026681.1678.7New season Lamb
07/02/2026706.7703.9New season Lamb
Change▲26▲25 
Price in c/kg (Incl VAT)867.8864.31

Live Sheep Exports 2025

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