Store cattle hit £2,000 a head peak at Scots auction marts
Thainstone livestock auction © MAG/Charlie Reeve Scottish livestock farmers have been receiving higher returns for store cattle at auction markets so far this year, with prices consistently above the same period in 2023.
Store cattle prices in Scotland have also been outperforming those south of the border in England and Wales.
Steers aged 12 to 18 months averaged £1,332 a head in Scotland last week, compared with £1,227 a head for similar aged steers in England and Wales.
See also: Beef trade braced for 5% drop in weekly kill
The numbers
- £1,332 Average 12- to 18-month steer store price in Scotland (£ a head)
- £664.5m Value of stock sold at Scottish auction marts in 2023
- 17 Number of livestock markets in Aberdeenshire before Thainstone opened in 1990
Farmers Weekly visited Thainstone Auction Centre near Aberdeen on 19 April, where more than 1,000 store cattle were sold under the hammer.
Heifers averaged 298.3p/kg in the live ring on the day, with a top price of 458.5p/kg and a top gross of £2,100/head, while bullocks averaged 310.1p/kg and peaked at £2,030 a head.
Institute of Auctioneers and Appraisers in Scotland (IAAS) executive director Neil Wilson said the store cattle trade had held up well despite the fact it had been a difficult spring.
“Usually at this time of year, you would have people coming in to buy cattle going to grass – that doesn’t seem to have affected the trade at all. It’s still really positive, plenty of buyers around the ring,” he said.
Mr Wilson added that supply during the first quarter of the year been a little tighter as a reflection of a smaller national breeding herd in Scotland.
A lot of the store cattle bought at auction are purchased by farmers running specialist beef finishing units.
Finishers who are able to supply more than 50 or 100 cattle a week for slaughter typically receive a premium from processors for supplying cattle in greater quantities.
These larger finishers could be receiving as much as 530p/kg deadweight, compared to an average finished deadweight price of about 500p/kg, according to Mr Wilson.
Bidders are also often willing to pay a premium for assured Scotch beef cattle.
Function of auction marts
The Auction system provides an open and transparent marketplace for price discovery with different buyers for all types of stock, according to Alan Hutcheon, non-executive director of ANM Group (Aberdeen and Northern Marts Group) and president of IAAS.
Farmer owned co-operative, ANM Group, runs several markets – including Thainstone, Caithness, and Elgin – and accounts for roughly 20% of market share in Scotland, with the group selling £134m worth of stock in 2023.
Mr Hutcheon said there were previously 17 markets in Aberdeenshire before Thainstone opened in 1990, and reiterated the social role markets play in the rural community.
Challenges
The auction mart sector is facing many of the same challenges as the wider agricultural industry with labour shortages, high interest rates, electricity and water bills all playing a part.
- Scottish markets paid £2.25m in business rates, which it felt was out of line with other sectors
- Cashflow challenges have been worsened by higher stock values and interest rates
- Increased requirements for layerage, often for lengthened periods of time, have created challenges for disease management
- Heightened regulation around transportation and animal welfare have added to operating costs
- Less stock on farms could create future issues for throughputs at auction marts.