The Irish factory cattle supply has increased by 9,500 head to date this year, according to figures from the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM).
As of Sunday, February 18, DAFM figures show a total of 244,698 cattle had been slaughtered at DAFM-approved factories, up 9,521 head from the 235,177 head of cattle slaughtered in the same time period of 2023.
Further analysis of these figures show the cow category attributed the largest increase in the overall beef kill to date this year.
The table below gives an overview of the beef kill in week seven of this year, versus the same week of last year and the total to date this year versus last year:
Category Week ending
Feb 18, 2024Equivalent
Last YearCumulative
2024Cumulative
2023Cumulative difference Young Bulls 2,966 2,806 21,358 23,521 -2,163 Bulls 435 505 2,390 2,644 -254 Steers 13,274 13,289 83,153 80,693 +2,460 Cows 9,518 7,717 63,341 55,725 +7,616 Heifers 11,392 11,149 74,456 72,594 +1,862 Total 37,585 35,466 244,698 235,177 +9,521
As can be seen from the table above, the cow kill has attributed the highest volume increase to the factory cattle supply this year.
The young bull kill has declined by 2,163 head and this has been replaced by the rise in the steer kill, which has grown by 2,460 head.
The rise in the steer kill can be partially attributed to the market preference for steer beef as opposed to bull beef.
Looking into the source of the rising cow kill numbers, DAFM has provided a breakdown of the number of suckler and dairy cows slaughtered at DAFM-approved factories in January of this year compared to January of 2023.
In January of 2024, 10,926 beef-bred cows were slaughtered at DAFM approved factories, down 583 head from the 11,509 beef-bred (or suckler) cows slaughtered in January 2023.
Alternatively, 29,715 dairy cows were slaughtered at DAFM-approved factories in January 2023, up 6,552 head from the 23,163 head of dairy cows slaughtered in January of 2023.