The supply of finished cattle to Irish factories has fallen by over 52,000 head to date this year, according to the latest figures from the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM).
As of Sunday, October 1, a total of 1.27 million cattle (1,272,252) had been processed at DAFM-approved factories this year. In the same period last year, that figure stood at 1.32 million head (1,324,462).
The figures show the number of cattle processed this year has fallen by 52,210 head.
The table below gives an overview of the beef kill to date this year:
Type Week ending
October 1Equivalent
Last YearCumulative
2023Cumulative
2022Young Bulls 1,102 1,557 90,585 102,538 Bulls 450 510 21,819 22,221 Steers 17,717 19,482 508,901 530,655 Cows 7,635 6,813 289,262 295,900 Heifers 9,793 10,046 361,685 373,148 Total 36,697 38,408 1,272,252 1,324,462
Despite the overall drop in cattle supplies this year, the weekly supplies of cattle have been increasing for the past three consecutive weeks.
Just under 26,700 head of cattle were processed in the week ending Sunday, September 1. This is over 1,700 head below 2023 levels.
The graph below shows how weekly beef kills this year have been comparing to last year:
As the graph above indicates, while weekly cattle supplies this year are increasing, they are generally trending well below the figures from last year.
At 1.81 million head, the 2022 beef kill was the largest since 1999. The drop in numbers this year had been forecast By Bord Bia, albeit, not to the extent that materialised.
Last November, Bord Bia outlined that the 2023 beef kill was expected to be 30,000 head or 2% below the 2022 supply.
It remains to be seen how cattle supplies will fare out in the final quarter of the year, however the expectation is that supplies will continue to trend below 2022 supply levels.