Market Reports (January 2017)

Friday 27th January 2017

Cattle

Some of the Scottish processors are putting pressure on the cattle price and pulling the trade under 360p for the first time in months. Good cattle though in the last week are up to 365p/kg with producers very pleased with the results. The English trade is very buoyant at the moment, with some leakage of Angus south of the border.
The cull cow trade remains positive and more can be sold to advantage should producers have any available. We have a new outlet for really good, very well fleshed cows and the results speak for themselves. More are needed as are plainer boning types. Please speak to the office or your local fieldsman if you need any further advise.

Hoggets

The hogget trade is coming under some resistance at the moment with relatively large numbers still coming forward, production seems to be finally shifting away from the breeder finishers to the store finishers, almost a month later than last year. Some firms have pulled their prices back as low as 345p/kg with out of spec hogget’s reaching ridiculous levels of up to 90% in some cases. Better in spec sheep, drawn correctly are in slightly more demand with base prices as high as 365p/kg.
Concerning news from AHDB reports that total UK lamb slaughtering in 2016 was back four per cent on the previous year at 12.7 million head, with the biggest falls coming in the first nine months of the year. This is the lowest level of lamb slaughtering since 2013.
This has to be taken in the context that lamb numbers this year are up over 2%. As 2016 has shown, anything and everything is possible politically so there is no knowing what the trade will do but the data released points to a difficult period of hogget trading in the next four months with supply expected to be high and out of spec sheep plentiful.

In lamb ewes for sale, please check out the facebook page for the latest offerings.

Organics

Once again well fleshed organic cattle are a stand on between 440-450p/kg with processors keeping the trade firm to maintain market share. Organic hogget’s in the last week have come under a little bit of pressure with base prices easing back 10p/kg. Organic store hogget’s and cattle wanted. Organic in lamb ewes wanted.