The number of cattle (excluding veal) slaughtered at factories approved by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) to date this year has fallen by almost 38,000 head.
In the week ending Sunday August 20, a total of 34,718 head of cattle was slaughtered at DAFM-approved factories.
This was an increase on the previous week and almost on par with the same week in 2022. Last week’s kill brings the total number of cattle slaughtered to date this year to 1.06 million head – 37,915 head below last year’s supply of cattle.
The table below gives an overview of the beef kill to date this year:
Type Week ending
August 20Equivalent
Last YearCumulative
2023Cumulative
2022Young Bulls 1,388 1,533 82,868 93,101 Bulls 596 683 18,522 18,722 Steers 16,489 16,517 409,529 421,038 Cows 6,621 6,405 248,306 255,336 Heifers 9,624 9,657 306,887 315,830 Total 34,718 34,795 1,066,112 1,104,027
As can be seen from the table above, over 10,000 fewer young bulls have been slaughtered to date this year.
Looking at the cumulative steer (bullock) kill figure and supplies have fallen by 11,600 head. The supply of finished heifers has fallen by just under 9,000 head this year with a total of just under 307,000 head of heifers slaughtered.
Weekly beef kills are expected to increase in numbers over the coming weeks as large numbers of finished cattle come in to factories off grass.
Current projections suggest supplies will remain below last year but it remains to be seen to what extent.
The supply of factory cattle in 2022 was the highest since 1999, according to Bord Bia.
Factory cattle prices had been falling by a factor of 5c/kg over recent weeks but in the last two weeks, the trade has stabilised.
A look at the Bord Bia Beef Market Tracker shows that as of Saturday, August 19, the Irish Composite Price was 32c/kg below the export benchmark price.