The rising cost pressures on beef farms is likely to cause farmers to offload extra cattle to the factory this year, it has been forecast.
Initially, Bord Bia had estimated the total number of cattle processed in 2022 to increase by 70,000 to 80,000 head.
However, with ongoing cost pressures at farm level, Bord Bia’s beef sector manager has estimated the overall cattle kill is likely to increase in the region of 90,000 head.
Mark Zieg from Bord Bia further noted that decisions made at individual farm level to counteract rising input and production costs will be key drivers behind this revised figure.
“There is now an increased likelihood of higher-than-anticipated cow slaughterings during 2022 and also the prospect of prime cattle being killed younger and lighter than previous years.”
Cattle throughput at beef factories is running approximately 25,000 cattle ahead of this time last year.
Despite the higher numbers to date, cattle availability is expected to tighten for a period of time in the late spring.
According to Bord Bia, the level of throughput recorded during 2022 to date has been higher than expected, with more producers opting to finish cattle in the shed than was previously expected.
A strong increase in the cow kill has also contributed to the higher-than-expected cattle kill in the first two months of the year.
While factory cattle numbers are increasing, some of this increase in cattle throughput will be offset by lower carcass weights.
Bord Bia has outlined that the average steer carcass weight in January this year was 347kg, back 4kg from January 2021.
Meanwhile, the average heifer carcass weight was 309kg, back 3kg from January 2021 levels, while the average cow carcass weight was back by 8kg to 305kg.
The mature-bull carcass weight was back by 5kg to 465kg.
The only category that recorded an increase in the average carcass weight was young bulls, which were up by 4kg to 372kg, according to Bord Bia’s figures.