• Westher continues to affect cattle prices

    THE GREEN stuff might be growing slightly more than it was, but with the cold weather continuing and grass growth up to a month late, there is little enthusiasm to invest in breeding females and younger store cattle.

  • Lamb crop drops 8%

    IT COMES as no surprise that the latest forecast for the 2013 lamb crop has been revised downwards, with the new figure of 15.8m head down a massive 1.36m (8%) on the 2012 figures.

  • Demand for grass-fed stock on the up

    IT MAY be in short supply throughout much of the country, but demand for grass and indeed grass-fed raised and finished beef and sheep has soared since horsemeat DNA was first confirmed in some processed foods on sale in British supermarkets.

  • Reduced EU demand for lamb

    UK sheep prices may be on the up in the UK due to reduced supplies, but it appears the opposite holds true on the Continent, where the economic problems being experienced by many countries in southern Europe are having a significant effect on the trading patterns of sheep and sheep meat.

  • Genomics for male and female calves

    Holstein UK can now offer members the opportunity to run a UK genomic evaluation on both male and female calves.

  • Beef prices hit record levels again

    Beef prices are continuing to rise, with several centres setting new records almost on a weekly basis, due to the continued shortage of finished cattle plus the rise in demand for locally produced beef following the horsemeat scandal.

  • Beef Shorthorn records

    Female records were also smashed at the heifer sale at Stirling in October when Chapelton Honeysuckle set a high of 13,000gns whilst a record average of £2110 was set for 81.

  • Boost for sheep farmers

    A LOWER than anticipated carryover of old season lambs combined with a long winter and extremely late spring, has bolstered the prime sheep trade in recent weeks and looks set to continue for the next month, according to those in know.

  • More beef hits the right specification

    WE'RE GETTING better at hitting the spec' sheets for beef, according to the annual British carcase classification results released by Eblex.

  • QMS outlines plans and strategies for the year ahead

    FALLING LIVESTOCK numbers, levy payments and brand expansion were the main issues of concern for the Quality Meat Scotland team this week, as they outlined the spending plans and challenges facing the promotional body over the coming year.