Weekly cattle and sheep market wrap – 6 August 2026

Deadweight prices cover Great Britain (GB) for the week ending 1 August. Liveweight prices cover England and Wales (E&W) for the week ending 2 August.

• Prime cattle prices increased again but remain below last year’s levels
• Overall cow prices declined for the second week
• The deadweight NSL SQQ declined, whilst numbers to slaughter increased in this week.

The GB deadweight all prime average cattle price increased on the week to sit at 607p/kg, up nearly 2p/kg on the previous week, continuing the upward momentum.

Average steer price was 609/kg, up 1p/kg on the week, whilst average heifer price grew by 2p/kg to 608p/kg. Young bulls saw marginal gains of 0.4p/kg to reach 597.3p/kg.

The GB estimated prime cattle kill puts numbers up 1,400 head from the previous week to 31,200 head, this is 300 head higher than the same period last year but the year to date slaughter is 0.8% behind 2025 levels.

The overall average cow price saw a downward movement of 2p/kg to sit at 491p/kg, marking the second week of decline. Estimated cow kill was up by 600 head from the previous week to total 9,600 head.

The GB new season deadweight SQQ sat at 781/kg in the week ending 1st August, a decrease of 28p/kg on the week. This price is still 26p/kg higher than the same period in 2025.

Estimated slaughter of clean sheep totalled 185,000 head, up 13,000 head on the week prior.

NSL store lamb prices saw a sharp decline last week back nearly £11/head to £112/head, although prices have been declining this is still higher than the same week last year.

Throughputs increased 26,800 head to 39,800 head; this is significantly higher than the same week last year showing that stores are coming forward earlier possibly reflecting the lack of grass around.

Cull ewe prices decreased again back nearly £11 to £135/head, throughput increased 2,400 head from the previous week to 34,000 head.

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