Beef kill: Supply deficit remains apparent in factory kill numbers
The deficit in cattle supplies when compared to last year continues to be seen in the weekly beef kill figures.
Supplies had been running above last year for the first half of the year, but are now running well below 2024 levels and have been since June.
Figures from the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) show just over 26,600 head of cattle (excluding veal) were slaughtered in the week ending Sunday, August 31.
This figure is over 8,250 head below the same week of last year.
The table below shows the total weekly beef kill for the final week of August this year compared to the same week of last year and the cumulative 2025 kill compared to the same time period of 2024:
| Category | Week ending Sunday, August 31 | Equivalent Last Year | Cumulative 2025 | Cumulative 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Young Bulls | 1,110 | 923 | 77,800 | 78,960 |
| Bulls | 456 | 591 | 17,084 | 20,416 |
| Steers | 12,543 | 16,121 | 410,817 | 427,813 |
| Cows | 5,190 | 7,748 | 245,664 | 288,571 |
| Heifers | 7,314 | 9,498 | 343,707 | 332,306 |
| Total | 26,613 | 34,881 | 1,095,072 | 1,148,066 |
Interestingly, the cumulative heifer kill is running above last year with supplies down in all other categories.
The graph below shows how weekly kill numbers this year have been comparing to last year:
There is an expectation that weekly kill numbers will increase into the autumn but, with cattle numbers down nationally, this spike may not be a high as other years. The overall 2025 kill is expected to remain significantly below 2024 kill figures.
