Weekly cattle and sheep market wrap – 5 March 2026

Deadweight prices cover GB for the week ending 28 February. Liveweight prices cover England and Wales for the week ending 1 March.

Key points

• GB deadweight prime cattle prices edge up slightly; heifers and steers averaged 637p/kg and 638p/kg respectively
• AHDB estimated clean sheep slaughter increased by 452 head on the week
• GB deadweight OSL SQQ rose to stand at 724p/kg

Cattle

GB deadweight prime cattle prices saw a slight increase in the week ending 28 February. The average all-prime price reached 637p/kg, rising by just 0.5p on the week but falling by 3.2p compared with the same period last year.

Within this, the average steer price reached 638p/kg, rising by 0.9p on the week and standing 4.4p lower than the same period last year. This is also 156p/kg above the five-year average.

The overall heifer price was 637p/kg, no change from the previous week but still 1.3p lower than the same period last year.

Overall, young bulls averaged 619p/kg, up 0.2p from the previous week but down by 4p compared to a year ago.

The average GB deadweight cow price rose by 1.7p to stand at 512p/kg, marking a 28p increase compared with last year and standing 155p/kg above the five-year average.

Estimated GB prime cattle slaughter reached 34,300 head, showing a large increase (1,400 head) against the previous week. Meanwhile, cull cow slaughter numbers fell by 400 head to 9,100 head, which was 600 head lower than the same week last year.

Sheep

Meanwhile, the GB deadweight old season lamb (OSL) SQQ rose by 30p in the week ending 28 February, reaching 754p/kg. The price remained 16p higher than the level recorded in the same week last year.

In the week ending 1 March, the liveweight OSL SQQ for England and Wales (E&W), was 364p/kg no change from the previous week, yet still 18p higher than the same week in 2025. Throughputs increased by 4% to 53,245 head.

Early new season lambs have started to appear in the survey, but the volume of throughputs is low.

AHDB estimated weekly GB clean sheep slaughter increased slightly, totalling 227,889 head, an increase of around 452 head on the week. This was 2,371 head lower than the same period last year.

Average cull ewe prices were unchanged on the week, standing at £128/head. This is £10.10/head lower than a year ago.

© Livestock Auctioneers Association Limited 2026. All rights reserved.

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