Beef finishers chase £6/kg for prime cattle this spring

The beef trade has kicked off to a flying start in 2025 with finished prices skyrocketing at both abattoirs and in the live ring.

Deadweight prices have gone from strength to strength with several processors paying base prices of 560p/kg to 570p/kg in the past week.

Meanwhile, some larger beef finishers have reportedly been able to negotiate prices closer to 580p/kg.

See also: Cull cow base tipped to narrow gap with prime cattle

Much of the recent trade has been driven by tight supplies across both sides of the Irish Sea.

Stuart Vile, ruminant manager at livestock marketing group Meadow Quality, said beef was certainly in demand with prices up by 10p/kg to 15p/kg since Christmas.

He said demand was coming from export and domestic markets and there were empty abattoir “chillers” in need of filling.

Mr Vile added there was also talk of abattoirs trying to entice farmers with forward contracts into May and June, with rumours of 600p/kg to 620p/kg being on offer.

UK prime cattle slaughterings were down 5.3% on the year in November, according to Defra figures, and more recent industry estimates suggest numbers remain tight.

Auction markets

Steers and heifers were both up on the week to average 327p/kg and 343p/kg liveweight respectively at auction markets in England and Wales for the week ending 4 January.

Sedgemoor Auction Centre saw steers top at 240p/kg and heifers sell for up to 388.5p/kg on 6 January.

Auctioneer Robert Venner told Farmers Weekly the market set new pence per kilo and pound per head records for both steers and heifers.

Mr Venner said: “There is good demand, but it is also with a background of very tight supply.”

Store prices also remain elevated and a 31-month-old Charolais steer sold to a new record high of £2,260 at Sedgemoor on 4 January.

Mr Venner added that the calf trade had also caught up and top end calves were currently selling at £500/head.

“The problem everyone has got at the moment is replacements. The top prices are fantastic, but the cost of replacements are also high, so generally everyone has got more money tied up for the same margin.”

Ireland

Ireland continues to be the largest exporter of beef to Great Britain and prices in Ireland have also rallied in recent months.

Irish agricultural development body Teagasc has forecast the average finished cattle price in Ireland in 2025 to be up by 4% on the year at €5.60/kg (464p/kg).

Teagasc’s Outlook 2025 – Economic Prospects for Agriculture suggested EU beef supply is forecast to decline in 2025

Analysts at Teagasc said: “The recent declines in the breeding cattle herd in the UK, France and Germany means that the prospects for beef prices in Ireland are reasonably good for the medium-term.”