Beef & Sheep Update 3rd July

Beef Update

IFA Livestock Chairman Declan Hanrahan said cattle prices continue to move upwards as supplies tighten considerably on the ground. He said the latest weekly kill was back 3,336 head to a total of 23,863 head the lowest weekly throughput figures in almost 12 months. Factories are struggling to secure numbers to fill weekly orders and are paying up to 20c/kg above quotes to tie down deals this week the IFA Livestock Chair said. Demand in marts has also intensified as factory agents source cattle for next day processing. Prices in our key export markets are strengthening pointing to strong and favourable conditions which must be returned with higher beef prices. This week factories are offering deals from €6.40kg to €6.50kg for steers and €6.50kg to €6.60kg for heifers. Young bulls R and U grades are making from €6.50kg to €6.70kg. Cull cow prices have also strengthened with prices ranging from €6.00kg to €6.50kg depending on the grade.  

Beef Price Update 03/07/2026

Base Steer €6.40/6.50kg. Heifers €6.50/6.60kg. Higher deals for larger and specialist lots. Flat deals over €7.00kg. Y Bulls R/U €6.50/6.70Kg. Cows €6.00/6.50kg.

Supply Figures as Reported by DAFM – WK 26 (28.06.2026)

Animal	Number	Change prev wk	% of total	YTD	YTD Change
Y Bulls	2,402	▼-135	10%	61,343	▼-884
Bull	415	▼-338	2%	12,759	▲20
Steer	8,345	▼-1,799	35%	296,381	▼-22,143
Cow	6,103	▲53	26%	166,841	▼-29,966
Heifer	6,556	▼-1,110	27%	248,921	▼-28,502
Veal-V	29	▲3	0%	741	▼-1,958
Veal-Z	13	▼-11	0%	2,008	▲457
Total	23,863	▼-3,337	100%	788,994	▼-82,976

Official Irish Prices as Reported by DAFM – WK 26 (28.06.2026)

c/kg (Incl. VAT)	U3	Change prev wk	R3	Change prev wk	O3	Change prev wk	P+3	Change prev wk
Steers	682	▲15	672	▲11	665	▲14	629	▲11
Heifers	688	▲8	674	▲6	669	▲8	618	▲17
Y Bulls	678	▲12	664	▲12	647	▲12	640	▲14
Cows	0	▲0	633	▲10	600	▲15	572	▲0

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
20/06/2026	599.9	602.5	598.8	603.0	584.6	583.6	511.5
27/06/2026	603.9	604.1	601.6	606.8	587.2	584.2	512.4
Change	▲4	▲2	▲0	▲4	▲3	▲1	▲1
Price in c/kg (Incl VAT)	741.5	741.8	738.7	745.1	721.0	717.3	629.2

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

Country & Type	22.06.2024	21.06.2025	20.06.2026
EU + Y Bulls R3	€ 5.07	€ 6.68	€6.61
IE + Steers R3	€ 5.22	€ 7.31	€ 6.35
UK + Steers R3	€ 5.67	€ 7.45	€6.85

Live Cattle Exports 15th June

---

Sheep Update

IFA Sheep Chair Adrian Gallagher has criticised factories for further cuts to lamb prices this week. He said factories have ample opportunity to return higher prices on the back of reduced supplies here and in our key export markets, the UK and France, where prices ae making over €10.00 in both regions based on the latest reports. He said factories can and must do more on lamb prices, the current cuts are not acceptable and must be reversed. The IFA Sheep Chair said farmers should not be misled by unfounded negativity from factories and their agents on sheep markets. Demand over the coming weeks will exceed supply and factories must reflect this in the prices and weights offered for lambs.

Lamb Price Update 02/07/2026

Hoggets €8.00/8.30kg. Weights to 23kg. Spring Lamb €9.00/9.30kg. Weights to 21.5kg. Higher deals groups/larger lots. Ewes €5.10/5.50/kg.

Supply Figures as Reported by DAFM – WK 28 (26.06.2026)

Animal	Figure	Change	YTD	YTD Change
Lambs/Hoggets	1,957	▼-2,177	692,345	▼-58,596
Spring Lambs	30,165	▲2,390	191,932	▼-16,429
Ewes and Rams	5,124	▲570	124,739	▲40,902
Light Lambs	0	▲0	0	▼-104
TOTAL	37,246	▲783	1,009,016	▲4,388

Official Irish Prices as Reported by DAFM – WK 28 (26.06.2026)

c/kg (Incl. VAT)	This week	Change prev. wk	2025	Change prev. yr
National Avg Price	918.89	▼-20	822.93	▲96
YTD Avg	847.95	▲3	864.84	▼-16

,/div>

Official GB Prices as Reported by AHDB

	R3L	Overall SQQ*	Type of lamb
20/06/2026	907.0	906.4	New season Lamb
27/06/2026	870.3	869.2	New season Lamb
Change	▼-37	▼-37
Price in c/kg (Incl VAT)	1068.6	1067.3	1

Live Sheep Exports