Factory cattle supplies remained above 33,000 head (excluding veal) in the week ending Sunday, April 27, despite the four-day beef kill at most sites as a result of Easter Monday (April 21).

Weekly factory cattle supplies have generally been gradually declining since peaking in the second week of February at just over 39,000 head.

Despite the gradual decline in weekly cattle supplies, the total beef kill to date this year is running above last year by almost 26,000 head - driven primarily by increased heifer and steer supplies.

The graph below shows how weekly beef kill numbers this year have been comparing to last year:

The total number of cattle slaughtered to date this year stands at just over 600,000 head - up 25,700 head on the same time of last year.

2025 factory cattle supplies are expected to be lower than than 2024 supplies by somewhere in the region of 85,000 head of cattle. The strong kill to date this year is expected to further exacerbate this drop-off in cattle supplies as the year progresses.

The table below details cattle supplies in the week ending Sunday, April 27, compared to the same week of last year, and the cumulative kill to date this year compared to last year:

As can be seen from the table above, the cow kill to date this year is down 8,400 head while the heifer and steer kill numbers are up 22,200 and 12,700 head respectively.

Several factories are only killing cattle four days this week and will only be killing four days next week also as a result of the May Bank Holiday Monday (May 5).