Livestock price data

Organic Livestock Prices

February 2026

	£/kg deadweight
Prime cattle - Finished stock (Average R4L organic UTM in spec)	£7.65
Cull cow - Finished stock (Average R4L organic OTM in spec)	£5.70
Lamb - Finished stock (Average R3L organic NSL in spec)	£7.00

N.B. Prices serve as a guide only and are averaged from information collected from key producers and traders. Accurate at time of writing but may alter due to market volatility.

OLMC Finished Stock Marketing Report February 2026

Prime Cattle

The period before Christmas saw a good demand for organic prime cattle, this to some extent has continued. The drive during January has been more about finding supplies than increased demand. This situation looks as if it could continue for a while making abattoirs look on a week-by-week basis to fulfill orders.

The quality of finished stock has been reasonable; weights are certainly down a little from past years due to difficult 2025 growing conditions and poorer quality of forage in some cases.

Average R4L organic UTM in spec @ 765p/kg deadweight.

Cull Cow

The trade for organic cull cows has strengthened a little as we enter 2026. Supplies of cull cows are tight at a time where abattoirs try to push to gather stocks of processing meat during what is left of the winter. Trade is likely to remain firm into the spring. We are seeing some tremendous returns on well finished cull stock.

Average R4L organic OTM cow in spec @ 570p/kg deadweight.

Lamb

The lamb trade has eased back a little in the past few weeks, mainly due to good growing conditions pushing lambs forward in finishing, creating a flush on to the market. We should see the supply slow a little and prices strengthen again. However, it is uncertain that we will see the dizzy price highs of past years.

Average R3L organic NSL in spec @ 700p/kg deadweight.

For more information, please contact OLMC at olmc@olmc.co.uk or 01763 250313

OLMC Store Report February 2026

The cattle trade continues to be very buoyant with buyers hungry for cattle to turn out.

We now have a waiting list of buyers for 300-400 kg, 12-month-old cattle which is reflective of the demand for organic cattle. The grass is starting to green up and grow in most areas and while we have had plenty of rain, the ground is starting to slowly dry out and conditions for turn out will be here soon.

Breeders are either calving cows now or certainly calving in the next couple of months with over 80% of the national beef herd being spring calving. This means that producers are starting to think about their breeding policy and bull selection. Obviously, the aim is to get a calf and a cow back in calf as quickly as possible to end up with a calf every 365 days. Early calvers will already have made decisions on breeding policy and later calvers need to be thinking of bull selection PDQ.

The subject of cattle breeding is vast and in a short article like this, it is simply impossible to cover the subject comprehensively. There are nevertheless a few simple issues that need contemplation and thought.

To make progress with breeding cattle, the bull needs to be of better genetics than the existing female herd. I would urge you to select a bull that is going to produce progeny that maximises returns from the marketplace, but also take a long-term view and consider that the female progeny will be the basis of the herd in the future. This of course depends on the size of the herd and may mean two breeding programmes, one focused on breeding cattle to sell and one for replacement heifers.

The importance of cattle breeding on farm returns is without question. It costs the same to feed a badly bred steer or heifer as it does a good one.

We are always available to give advice and we have contacts with good breeders who can supply bulls. Please do not hesitate to contact us.

Peter Jones

07720 892 922

01829 730 580