Beef Update
IFA Livestock Chairman Declan Hanrahan said cattle prices are unchanged this week as supplies remain tight. Factories are offering prices for steers from €7.50kg to €7.70kg and €7.60kg to €7.80kg for heifers. Young bulls R and U grades are ranging from €7.70kg to €8.00kg. Cull cow prices are making from €7.00kg for P grades up to €7.70kg for well fleshed U grade cows.
Declan Hanrahan said farmers with cattle to sell should not be misled by some factories offering quotes below what is available. Factories are frequently paying 10c/kg to 15c/kg above quoted prices and are very anxious for cattle for next day processing. The IFA Livestock Chair said the mart outlet continues to perform very strongly for finished cattle and farmers unable to achieve the higher prices from factories should consider this outlet.
Beef Price Update 29/08/2025
Base Steer €7.50/7.70kg. Heifers €7.60/7.80kg. Flat prices €8.20/8.40kg. Higher deals for larger and specialist lots. Y Bulls R/U €7.60/8.00Kg. Cows €7.00/7.70kg.
Supply Figures as Reported by DAFM – WK 34 (24.08.2025)
| Animal | Number | Change prev wk | % of total | YTD | YTD Change |
| Y Bulls | 1,410 | ▼-476 | 5% | 76,690 | ▼-1,347 |
| Bull | 441 | ▼-35 | 2% | 16,628 | ▼-3,197 |
| Steer | 11,680 | ▲431 | 44% | 398,274 | ▼-13,418 |
| Cow | 5,199 | ▲556 | 20% | 240,474 | ▼-40,349 |
| Heifer | 7,499 | ▲281 | 29% | 336,393 | ▲13,585 |
| Veal-V | 20 | ▼-5 | 0% | 2,890 | ▼-16,841 |
| Veal-Z | 19 | ▲7 | 0% | 1,726 | ▲394 |
| Total | 26,268 | ▲759 | 100% | 1,073,075 | ▲3,665 |
Official Irish Prices as Reported by DAFM – WK 34 (24.08.2025)
| c/kg (Incl. VAT) | U3 | Change prev wk | R3 | Change prev wk | O3 | Change prev wk | P+3 | Change prev wk |
| Steers | 803 | ▲2 | 797 | ▲2 | 792 | ▲2 | 756 | ▲0 |
| Heifers | 812 | ▲1 | 800 | ▲1 | 795 | ▼-1 | 752 | ▲0 |
| Y Bulls | 796 | ▼-5 | 789 | ▼-4 | 773 | ▼-3 | 776 | ▲15 |
| Cows | 0 | ▲0 | 753 | ▼-6 | 728 | ▲1 | 716 | ▲2 |
Official GB Prices as Reported by AHDB
| Steers | Steers | Heifers | Heifers | Y bull | Y bull | Cow | |
| p/kg | R3 | R4L | R3 | R4L | R3 | R4L | -O4L |
| 16/08/2025 | 650.2 | 654.4 | 647.6 | 653.2 | 639.1 | 639.0 | 540.1 |
| 23/08/2025 | 649.9 | 652.5 | 648.0 | 652.3 | 639.0 | 642.4 | 544.7 |
| Change | ▼-0 | ▼-2 | ▲0 | ▼-1 | ▼-0 | ▲3 | ▲5 |
| Price in c/kg (Incl VAT) | 798.0 | 801.2 | 795.7 | 801.0 | 784.6 | 788.8 | 668.8 |
Euro Price for the Most Recent Week (€/KG Deadweight excl. VAT)
| Country & Type | 12.08.2025 | 17.08.2025 | 16.08.2025 |
| EU + Y Bulls | € 4.78 | € 5.10 | € 6.82 |
| IE + Steers | € 4.66 | € 5.02 | € 7.57 |
| UK + Steers | € 5.33 | € 5.80 | € 7.50 |
Live Cattle Exports 18th August
Sheep Update
IFA Sheep Chairman Adrian Gallagher has criticized factories for cuts to lamb prices this week. He said confidence in the sector is very low and cuts to prices at a critical time of the year is highly irresponsible and unnecessary from factories. Supplies continue to drop significantly from last year. Throughput at export plants last week were 41,861 head compared to 57,456 head in the same week last year. Spring lambs are back almost 14,000 head from the same week last year. Overall throughput is back over 19% compared to 2024 which signals serious issues in the sector. He said ewe numbers are at their lowest levels in over 10 years and this behavior from factories continues to undermine the sector. Adrian Gallagher said factories must and can do more on lamb prices and avoid long term damage to the sheep industry.
Lamb Price Update 29/08/2025
Spring lambs €7.90/8.20kg. Weights to 22kg. Higher deals groups/larger lots. Ewes €4.60/5.30/kg.
Supply Figures as Reported by DAFM – WK 34 (24.08.2025)
| Animal | Figure | Change | YTD | YTD Change |
| Lambs/Hoggets | 389 | ▼-201 | 757975 | ▼-137,266 |
| Spring Lambs | 36519 | ▲3,405 | 479012 | ▼-97,775 |
| Ewes and Rams | 4953 | ▲481 | 115114 | ▼-53,336 |
| Light Lambs | 0 | ▲0 | 126 | ▲21 |
| TOTAL | 41861 | ▲3,685 | 1352227 | ▼-288,356 |
Official Irish Prices as Reported by DAFM – WK 34 (24.08.2025)
| c/kg (Incl. VAT) | This week | Change prev. wk | 2024 | Change prev. yr |
| National Avg Price | -0.52 | ▼-1 | 717.65 | ▲51 |
| YTD Avg | 847.95 | ▼-2 | 788.92 | ▲57 |
Official GB Prices as Reported by AHDB
| R3L | Overall SQQ* | Type of lamb | |
| 16/08/2025 | 753.5 | 755.9 | New season Lamb |
| 23/08/2025 | 738.6 | 734.9 | New season Lamb |
| Change | ▼-15 | ▼-21 | |
| Price in c/kg (Incl VAT) | 906.9 | 902.4 | 1 |
Live Sheep Exports 02/07/2025
