THERE’s been a slow, but steady improvement in the beef trade during the month of May, with prices looking a lot more positive since the lowest price dip seen in a number of years at the end of April.

Data collected by AHDB indicates that since that dismal 323.1p per deadweight kg recorded on April 30, steers in Scotland have risen by 15.9p to level at 339p as at June 4.

While this may still be a long way off where the prime trade needs to be, particularly when taking current store cattle prices into consideration, it is worth pointing out that this is only 5p behind the 339p recorded on June 6, 2015, before a surge to 375p on July 18.

More importantly for Scottish producers, is the fact that this was some 8.8p above the average for R4L steers sold across Great Britain which levelled at 330.2p for the week ended May 28.

Further boosting positivity among producers, competition from processors is reported to have been steady and cattle queues at abattoirs are now non-existent, allowing for a quicker throughput for those wanting to keep cattle within specification.

Liveweight prices, too, are slowly climbing in the right direction with the latest AHDB Cattle and Sheep Weekly report stating, for the week ended June 1, steers rose 1.6p per kg on the week to level at 176p.

And while this could be seen as demand outweighing supply, the same report states around 400 more bullocks were sold compared to the previous week.

The majority of Scottish auction rings reported a strong trade throughout, but it was heifers that dominated the prices across the country with three Limousin crosses selling for the top price of 240p per kg when The Scottish Farmer went to press on Wednesday.

Making that price through Lawrie and Symington’s Forfar centre, last week, was one weighing 604kg from West Bog, with another weighing 522kg from Nethermyres, while at the firm’s sister centre in Lanark, on Monday, a 554kg heifer from Brockwoodlees also realised 240p.

Moving forward and the mirror of the surge seen in 2015 through the summer would be a welcome reprieve for producers this year, particularly when income and expenditure sheets are finely balanced.

It is unknown whether supplies will be tighter as we move through the summer and thus improve prices, or if the recent improved trade will encourage an influx of cattle to the market place.

But, the trade for cull cows has also been positive in recent weeks, despite some strengthening of sterling against the euro as the market place reacts to the impending Brexit referendum. In that recent Cattle and Sheep Weekly, the GB average for cows was up 4p per kg on the week to average 208.2p.