Cattle prices in Great Britain

Farmers, buyers and butchers all keep an eye on what cattle are making. AHDB's weekly prices are for cattle sold deadweight, straight to an abattoir. The price is then paid on the weight and grade of the carcase.

This page explains where those prices are published and how to read them. The prices change every week, and the publishers' own pages carry the latest ones.

The weekly deadweight survey

The Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB) collects deadweight cattle prices every week from abattoirs across Great Britain. AHDB says every abattoir killing more than 20,000 adult cattle a year contributes. Each one sends the price, weight, fat class and conformation of every steer, heifer, young bull or cow it bought deadweight.

The Rural Payments Agency's guidance says larger abattoirs in England and Wales must report their prices to AHDB each week. AHDB publishes the results by Wednesday for the week before, counted Sunday to Saturday.

What the average price includes

AHDB gives its prices in pence per kilogram of carcase, without VAT. They are set to one way of trimming the carcase, called the UK dressing specification, so prices from different abattoirs can be compared.

The average covers every animal, whatever its breed, scheme or organic status. It is the price due when the animal arrives at the abattoir, before deductions for things like transport, insurance or levies.

AHDB changed the size of its sample in the weeks ending 21 October 2023 and 5 October 2024. A reader comparing prices across those weeks should keep that in mind.

Reading a grade such as R4L

Each carcase is graded by a licensed classifier under the Beef Carcase Classification scheme. The letter is the conformation, which is the shape of the carcase and how well it is fleshed. It runs from S for superior, through E, U, R and O, to P for poor.

The number is the fat cover, from 1 for low to 5 for very high. Classes 4 and 5 can be split into leaner (L) and fatter (H). So an R4L carcase has good conformation and high fat cover, on the leaner side.

The carcase also gets a category letter. A is a young bull aged 12 to 24 months, C a castrated male, D a female that has calved, and E another female aged 12 months or more.

What these prices are for

AHDB says its price series are a historical record of what abattoirs paid or producers received. It says they are not designed as a base for future contract prices. The price for any one animal is agreed between the producer and the abattoir.

Before comparing two prices, people check the week, the category, the grade and the dressing specification. A cow price and a steer price are different series.

Auction prices and the longer view

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) used to publish monthly averages from auction markets in Great Britain. It has stopped updating them, and its page points readers to AHDB for current deadweight prices. The older series, from 2015 to early 2023, is still there to download.

Defra also publishes a monthly Agricultural Price Index. It tracks the prices farmers receive, with a series for cattle and calves. An index shows how prices have moved against a base year, set at 2020 = 100.

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