Weekly cattle and sheep market wrap – 20 August 2026

Deadweight prices cover Great Britain (GB) for the week ending 15 August. Liveweight prices cover England and Wales (E&W) for the week ending 16 August.

• Both the all prime cattle price and the NSL SQQ sheep prices remained static on last week, with slaughter numbers up across both species.
• Cull cattle numbers rose again as the dry weather continues to inhibit grass growth and forage production.
• Cull ewes and NSL throughputs in the live markets picked up after a few quieter weeks.

The deadweight all prime cattle price stayed static in the week ending 15 August, finishing at 608p/kg. This price is down 33p year-on-year as the price continues to recover steadily from the lows it saw in May.

Figure 1: GB all prime average deadweight cattle price

Source: AHDB

Figure 1 shows a line graph portraying the average GB all prime deadweight cattle price for 2024-2026, with a 5 year range and average.

In the categories, we saw the overall steer and heifer prices level week on week, finishing at 610p/kg and 609p/kg respectively. This brings the steer price down 34p year-on-year, and the heifer price down 31p/kg. In the young bull category, the price dropped 1p to finish the week at 598p/kg, down 38p on the year.

Prime cattle estimated slaughter has risen 500 head week-on-week, finishing the week ending 15 August at 32,700 head. This is up 2,300 head compared to the same week of last year.

So far in 2026, heavier carcase weights have supported beef production, with Defra figures showing total production up 0.5% for the year to date (Jan-Jul), despite prime cattle kill being back 1.7% year-on-year.

The latest data from also Defra shows that average prime cattle carcase weights dropped back over 1.6kg in July compared to June, to 356.7kg. Drought across much of the country has tightened forage supplies and combined with a lift in the price, this has likely made selling stock more attractive, shortening time on farm and capping weights. However, this remains up 9kg year-on-year.

The overall average cow price dropped 13p on the week, finishing the week ending 15 August at 470p/kg. This price is down 39p year-on-year.

Meanwhile, cow slaughter dropped 500 head week-on-week, totalling 9,400 head. This is up 1,600 head year-on-year and 900 head on the 5-year average. The increase in the number of cows coming forward continues as pressure on farm mounts from tight grazing stocks and a lack of forage.

The deadweight NSL SQQ halted its decline in the week ending 15 August, remaining steady on the week before at 724p/kg. This is down 30p year-on-year, and continues to be strong compared to the 5-year average, up 112p.

Estimated kill of clean sheep rose again this week, up 6,600 head to 208,400 head. This number is 10,700 head higher year-on-year, as new season lambs start to come forward in the dry weather.

In the live market, the NSL SQQ price dropped 3p week-on-week to finish week ending 16 August at 323/kg, down 17p year-on-year. Numbers of NSLs sold through the markets were up week-on-week, after a turbulent few weeks, finishing at 49,400 head.

Cull ewe prices fell £2.70/head week-on-week, on average, finishing at £132/head. The number of cull ewes rose this week to 37,200 head. This is up 11% year-on-year but comes after a few weeks of lower throughput on account of the weather.

Data from Defra shows that for the first 7 months of the year, adult sheep slaughter has been down 4.2% year-on-year. This is possibly an early sign of a higher retention of ewes going into the tupping season as concerns regarding fertility, in light of the recent heatwaves and increasing challenge from Bluetongue, are at the forefront of farmers minds.

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