The first 12 weeks of 2023 have seen just under 395,000 cattle (excluding veal) slaughtered at Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) approved factories.
This year’s beef kill is running just over 6,200 head of cattle behind last year’s figures.
Earlier this year, Bord Bia projected the supply of finished cattle in Ireland to fall by 50-60,000 head or 3-4% on last year’s levels. The 2022 factory cattle supply was the highest in 23 years.
The reduced supply of finished cattle is expected to be seen primarily in the first half of the year and supplies are expected to increase in the second part of the year with extra cattle available in the final quarter of 2023.
While prime cattle numbers have tightened in line with Bord Bia forecasts during the first quarter of 2023, there has been a stronger than expected cow throughput which has contributed to a higher than expected beef kill to date this year.
The table below gives a breakdown of the beef kill (excluding veal) to date this year compared to last year:
Type Week ending
March 26, 2023Equivalent
last yearCumulative
2023Cumulative
2022Young Bulls 2,038 2,254 34,728 38,973 Bulls 632 765 5,403 5,222 Steers 11,257 13,802 140,706 144,519 Cows 7,304 8,685 92,867 88,304 Heifers 9,118 10,876 121,015 123,930 Total 30,349 36,382 394,719 400,948
As can be seen from the table above, the supply of both steers and heifers has fallen while the supply of cows has increased, when compared to figures from last year.
It remains to be seen how available supplies of finished cattle will be over the coming 8-10 weeks, however, forecasts would indicate heifer and steer supply will drop further while the supply of cows could well remain higher than was previously expected.
Reasonably good cull-cow prices coupled with many dairy farmers facing stocking-rate pressure due to changes in nitrates regulations are both likely contributing factors to the rise in the cow supply.