Cattle trade is on the up
THE corner may have been turned in relation to cattle prices, according to a number of mart and farming representatives this week who said that there were encouraging signs for the critical ‘backend’ sales period.
A decline in numbers going through the factories allied to stronger farmer confidence helped by the benign summer so far, has lifted hopes for a good trade through the autumn period.
Athenry Mart Manager, Alan Barry, told the Farming Tribune that the month of July had brought about a significant change for the better in the whole market situation for cattle.
“Last week, we had one of the lowest kills for some time at the factories and with supplies tight, prices have firmed up. Through the month of July, the trade at the marts has been very lively and I think that there are grounds for reasonable optimism looking ahead to the autumn period,” he said.
Mr. Barry said that last year, there had been a big increase in the sales of cows and heifers due to the bad Spring in terms of weather and feed, but also due to the fact that beef prices were very good at the factories.
He added that already there were indications that the cattle births for the first half of this year, something that fed into the overall supply and demand dynamic of the trade.
“Another key factor is that so far we’ve enjoyed a very good summer with a great return, both in terms of quantity and quality, from the silage fields.
“Farmers now know that they have plenty of feed for the winter period and if the weather stays fairly reasonable into the autumn, I can see farmers being very active in the weanling market.
“Overall I would have to say that I’m quite optimistic about the autumn weanling trade. The quality of animals on offer is in general of a premium category but I think that the numbers will be down a bit, so competition will be keen between farmers and exporters,” said Alan Barry.
Galway IFA Chairman, Pat Murphy, told the Farming Tribune that overall the feedback seemed to be that cattle numbers would be down this backend with the prospect of a very strong trade for all good quality young animals.
“We even see it over the past couple of weeks at the meat plants where the numbers have dropped and prices have hardened. It is nearly all about supply and demand but all the indications are of the numbers tightening as we go into the autumn period,” said Pat Murphy.
He also stressed that the live export market – whether it be at top end Italian side of things or for Libya/North Africa for slightly plainer animals – needed to stay vibrant.
“We need to keep moving our boatloads of live cattle each week. This is very important in terms of competition and in fuelling demand at all levels of the trade,” said Pat Murphy.