The factory supply of prime cattle including heifers and steers (bullocks) is expected to increase over the winter months, according to a cattle supply forecast from Bord Bia.
According to the Irish food bord, the supply forecast to the end of 2023 suggests that the overall factory cattle throughput for this year is likely to show a decline of 20,000 head on last year’s cattle supply.
Latest figures from the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) show that the factory supply of cattle to date this year is over 53,000 head (excluding veal) below last year’s supply level.
Bord Bia has said that prime cattle numbers are expected to recover “slightly” by a margin of 4-5% from October to December of this year.
A similar trend is also expected in the first quarter of 2024, with cattle numbers expected to be up 4% from January-March 2024.
While supplies of prime cattle are projected to increase, cow supplies are expected to fall. In both quarter four of 2023 and quarter one of 2024, Bord Bia expects the supply of factory cows to decline by 4%.
Fall in carcass weights
The Bord Bia Irish beef market outlook also shed light on how carcass weights have been performing this year.
It noted that steer carcass weights to date this year have declined by 3% with the average steer carcass weight at 345kg.
Heifer carcass weights have declined by 2% leaving the average heifer carcass weight this year at 311kg.
Cow carcass weights have fallen by 4% and the average cow carcass weight to date this year stands at 303kg.
Alternatively, young bull carcass weights have increased this year with the average carcass weight up 3% to 379kg.
According to Bord Bia, the lower weights reflect the growing proportion of dairy animals in the total.
Reduced grass quality over the summer months and lower concentrate feed usage also attributed to these reduced carcass weights, according to the outlook report.
The proportion of steers grading an R is down from 30% in 2021 to 25% to date in 2023. Heifers grading R were down from 43% to 36% over the same time period.