The trend of dwindling cattle supplies remains evident as the beef kill is down by nearly 170,000 head in comparison to the same timefrome last year.

This is according to the latest beef kill figures from the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM).

These figures, which detail the killings for the week ending Sunday, November 30, show that the biggest reduction has been seen in cows, which are down by 3,203 this week alone, and down by more than 81,000 this year overall.

However, it is not just cows, with every animal type having less kill-outs in DAFM-approved factories this week.

The table below outlines the details of cattle supplies in the week ending Sunday, November 23, compared to the same week of last year, and the cumulative kill-to-date this year compared to last year.

These figures show that DAFM-approved factories have processed 63,609 fewer steers in the year to date when compared to last year.

There has also 24,078 less heifers processed, 4,591 less bulls slaughtered, and 2,980 fewer young bulls killed in these factories.

Weekly kill numbers are still running over 7,000 head/week below the same time period as last year.

However, the weekly kill does seem to be stabilising slightly with the last three consecutive weeks all killing out above the 32,000 head mark.

Last month, Bord Bia estimated that the overall 2025 beef kill would be 140-150,000 head below 2024 figures.

The Irish food board estimated a total figure of 1.65 million cattle being slaughtered this year.