Figures obtained by Agriland from the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) show that over 44,000 additional cows have been slaughtered to date this year at DAFM-approved factories compared to the same time period last year.
Over 9,100 cows were processed in the week ending Sunday, October 30, making it the highest weekly kill of cows to date this year.
In total, just under 328,700 cows have been processed at DAFM-approved factories in the first 43 weeks of this year. In the same time period last year, this figure was just under 284,500. This marks an increase of just over 44,200.
Agriland analysed the composition of the cow kill from January to September of this year and compared it to the same time period last year.
In this time period, the number of suckler cows slaughtered has increased by 8,000 head on last year, while the number of dairy cows slaughtered has increased by 32,200 head.
The table below shows a breakdown in the origin of the cow kill at DAFM factories from January to September of 2022 and 2021:
Suckler cows Dairy cows 2021: 85,992 167,685 2022: 94,062 199,884 Increase: +8,070 +32,199
As the table above indicates, the rise in cow kill figures is being driven primarily by the dairy sector and this is also evident in the high levels of P-grade cows being processed on a weekly basis.
Overall beef kill this year
Looking at the overall picture, the total weekly beef kill fell slightly last week to just over 39,900 head (excluding veal). However, this is still 7,000 cattle ahead of the number processed in the same week last year.
A total of 1.48 million cattle have been processed to date this year (excluding veal). In the same time period of 2021, this figure stood at 1.37 million cattle. The total beef kill to date this year has increased by 113,000 cattle (excluding veal) on the same time period last year.