The week ending September 24, 2023, has seen the highest number of steers slaughtered in a single week so far this year, according to the latest figures from the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM).

The number of steers slaughtered was 17,319, the most seen this year, but still fewer than the equivalent week last year when 18,326 steers were slaughtered.

The first 38 weeks of 2023 have seen 1,235,555 cattle (excluding veal) slaughtered at DAFM-approved factories.

This year’s cumulative beef kill is 4% lower when compared up to the same period in 2022, and is running just over 50,499 cattle behind last year’s figures.

This is in line with the projections given by Bord Bia earlier this year, which estimated the supply of finished cattle in Ireland would fall by 50-60,000 head or 3-4% on last year’s levels.

The table below gives a breakdown of the beef kill (excluding veal) to date this year compared to last year:

TypeWeek ending
September 24
Equivalent
Last Year
Cumulative
2023
Cumulative
2022
Young Bulls1,0661,84089,483100,981
Bulls43855321,36921,711
Steers17,31918,326491,184511,173
Cows7,1176,931281,627289,087
Heifers9,3649,615351,892363,102
Total35,30437,2651,235,5551,286,054
Source: DAFM

The total number of cattle slaughtered in the week ending September 24, was 1,961 behind the same week last year, a 5.4% decrease on 2022.

Week 38 this year did however, see an increase of 1,528 cattle slaughtered in the space of a week.

The week ending September 24, saw 438 bulls slaughtered, which is the lowest number of bulls this year since the week ending January 29, when 344 bulls were processed.

The number of young bulls slaughtered in week 38 was 1,066, which is the lowest number recorded in 2023.

It is a decrease of 774 young bulls slaughtered on the same time last year, which was at 1,840 in total.