In the week ending October 23, over 40,200 adult cattle were processed at Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) approved factories.
This marks the second consecutive week this year where supplies of adult cattle crossed 40,000 head.
While supplies of cattle are high, DAFM figures show the level of ‘short fleshed’ cattle appearing at factory lairages is also high, which is problematic for both factories and beef finishers.
Of the 37,464 carcass grades reported to DAFM last week, 6,179 or 16.5% of the cattle processed (across all categories) graded between an 1- and a 2= and can therefore be classified as ‘short fleshed‘.
Further feeding would have been required for these cattle to get carcasses into a 2+ or above in flesh.
However, with rising feed costs and beef finisher rations costing from €420/t upwards, it seems many farmers are turning cattle out to the factory prematurely.
Prime cattle which grade under a 2+ in flesh are not eligible for the 20c/kg QPS bonus and therefore take a significant hit on price per kg.
Farmers who have under-finished cattle to sell, should take them to the mart, as factories generally show no mercy when pricing cattle that are not sufficiently fleshed.
Farmers who are unsure if their cattle are fit should contact the factory to send an agent to view the cattle first.
Further analysis of last week’s kill figures indicate that 14% of the steer carcasses were short of flesh and 32% of the cows processed were short fleshed.
Over 58% of the cows processed last week were P grades indicating the high numbers of cull dairy cows beginning to come on stream again.
Beef kill analysis:
Weekly factory cattle throughputs will likely dip in numbers for the first week of November as most processors will only be operating a four-day kill as a result of the October Bank Holiday.
Conversations with factory procurement bosses would indicate some stabilisation in prices could be seen in November but supplies of finished cattle will likely remain strong into mid-February of next year.
Early indications would veer towards a tightening in supplies of finished prime cattle between April and May 2023.