In the past five consecutive weeks, approximately 60% of the bullocks (steers) being processed have graded an O+ or lower, according to figures from the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM).
Interestingly, the figures also show that in the same five-week period, approximately 45% of the heifers processed have graded an O+ or lower.
The trend, which is somewhat similar to previous weeks of this year, reflects the growing influence of the dairy herd on the beef kill in Ireland.
Looking at the overall beef kill to date this year, supplies are back by just over 36,300 head on last year to 705,000 head.
A total of 32,000 cattle (excluding veal) was processed in the week ending Sunday, June 4, up slightly from the 31,700 head processed in the previous week.
The table below gives an overview of the beef kill to date this year:
Type Week ending
Sunday, June 4Equivalent
Last YearCumulative
2023Cumulative
2022Young Bulls 3,450 3,319 56,858 65,522 Bulls 636 586 11,541 12,038 Steers 11,779 10,458 263,057 274,252 Cows 7,502 8,788 163,998 170,686 Heifers 8,651 7,958 210,429 219,699 Total 32,018 31,109 705,883 742,197
Looking at the cumulative beef kill to date this year, the largest drop in numbers has been seen in the bullocks (steer) category with just under 11,200 fewer bullocks processed to date this year.
This is followed by heifers with numbers back by 9,270 and young bulls with numbers back by 8,550 head on last year. Looking at percentages, the young bull supply has dropped the most, with supply back by 13.2%.
The graph below shows how weekly beef kills to date this year compare to last year:
As can be seen from the chart above, last week was the first time in the past 11 weeks that the weekly beef kill (excluding veal) surpassed 32,000 head, albeit only slightly.