Beef kill: 2025 cattle supply now 120,000 head below last year
Latest beef kill figures show the 2025 factory cattle supply (excluding veal) is now almost 120,000 head below last year.
As of Sunday, October 12, a total of 1,264,300 head of cattle had been slaughtered at Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM)-approved factories.
The number of cattle slaughtered at DAFM-approved factories to date this year is 119,925 head below the 1,384,225 head of cattle slaughtered in the same time last year.
The table below details cattle supplies in the week ending Sunday, October 12, compared to the same week of last year, and the cumulative kill-to-date this year compared to last year:
| Animal Type | Week Starting 2025-10-06 | Equivalent Last Year | Cumulative 2025 | Cumulative 2024 | 2025/2024 difference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Young Bulls | 1,006 | 1,242 | 84,070 | 85,831 | -1,761 |
| Bulls | 434 | 476 | 19,656 | 23,558 | -3,902 |
| Steers | 11,510 | 18,319 | 489,969 | 537,549 | -47,580 |
| Cows | 5,536 | 9,205 | 278,850 | 339,355 | -60,505 |
| Heifers | 7,434 | 11,899 | 391,755 | 397,932 | -6,177 |
| Total | 25,920 | 41,141 | 1,264,300 | 1,384,225 | -119,925 |
Just over 25,900 cattle were slaughtered in the week ending Sunday, October 12. The total beef kill last week was down 15,231 head on the same week of 2024.
The graph below shows how weekly beef kill numbers to date this year have been comparing to last year:
The graph shows just how significant the difference has been in the factory cattle supply since July of this year.
Supplies had been running ahead of last year for the first half of this year but have now fallen considerably behind.
The largest drop off has been in the cow and steer kills, with the cow kill down by 60,500 head and the steer kill down by 47,500 head.
Heifer supplies have been holding firmer, with kill numbers down by a less severe 6,200 head.
It remains to be seen if kill numbers will recover significantly over the coming weeks, but most market forecasts would suggest supplies will remain tight and below last year's levels until the end of the year at least.
