Store cattle making losses of £100 a head

BEEF cattle finishers could be losing as much as £100 a head on prime cattle bought as "stores" at the end of last year, it was suggested yesterday.

Farmers buying in store cattle for finishing had been parting with too much and were now paying the penalty, said Alan McNaughton, managing director of McIntosh Donald, which slaughters 1,450 cattle a week at its Portlethen plant near Aberdeen.

McNaughton was speaking after the preliminary judging of the company's annual competition to find the best Scotch steak, which will be completed with a tasting by a panel of expert judges at the Royal Highland Show on 25 June.

"Beef cattle prices remained at a peak of 2.96 a kg deadweight for three months from October to December and this encouraged finishers to pay more for their stores than they should have done," Mr McNaughton said.

"We felt the high price for finished cattle was unsustainable and finishers should have been basing their price calculations for buying stores on a more realistic finished price of 2.80/kg.

"Prices have been falling steadily since the New Year because supplies are exceeding demand and are down to 2.76/kg this week for a standard R4L carcase."

McNaughton said prices were falling because of weaker consumer demand and a switch from the more expensive roasts to cheaper products such as mince or white meats, such as chicken and pork. Supermarket promotions were also concentrating on cheaper cuts in an effort to maintain volume and meet consumer demands for "value for money".

Scottish beef cattle prices had kept up remarkably well, given a differential of 11.3p/kg compared with English cattle throughout April and May.

Beef cattle prices in England have slumped because of increased supplies of beef from dairy-bred calves that were previously being slaughtered at birth. Supermarkets are also known to be mingling English and imported beef with Scotch beef in an effort to dilute the average price.

Mr McNaughton's comments came as the National Beef Association called for breeders and feeders to work together to ensure a more even supply of prime cattle on the market.

The NBA is "alarmed" at the heavy price falls in recent weeks and concerned about the long-term impact on beef production confidence.

A switch from spring to autumn calving would help even out supplies and avoid the current glut on the market. "There is a need to review production systems to stagger the delivery of prime cattle onto the market," said NBA chief executive, Kim Haywood.

• Sirloins from 12 of the 146 cattle entered for the McIntosh Donald steak competition were selected yesterday for cooking on the Tesco stand at the Royal Highland Show where they will be judged on eating quality by a judging panel that will include NFU Scotland president Jim McLaren.