Weekly factory beef kill numbers for January are running slightly ahead of last year’s levels, with just over 131,000 cattle (excluding veal) slaughtered in the first four weeks of this year.
Just over 9,000 cows were slaughtered at Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) approved factories in the week ending Sunday, January 29. This marks an increase of just over 1,400 cows on the same week last year.
Furthermore, DAFM figures show that 64% of the cows slaughtered last week were P-grade cows, while under 13% of the cows graded an R- or greater.
The table below gives an analysis of the beef kill at DAFM-approved factories in the first four weeks of this year compared to last year:
Animal Week Starting
23-Jan-23Equivalent
Last YearCumulative
2023Cumulative
2022Young Bulls: 3,671 4,206 14,414 15,466 Bulls: 344 365 1,196 1,156 Steers: 11,409 12,229 43,507 44,548 Cows: 9,004 7,599 31,133 25,775 Heifers: 10,304 10,691 41,005 41,202 Total: 34,732 35,090 131,255 128,147
Despite the significant hike in costs faced by beef farmers this winter and the consensus being that fewer farmers were finishing cattle, the number of heifers and steers slaughtered to date has not fallen significantly behind last year’s kill figures – as of yet.
This trend will likely change and throughput of heifers and steers is still expected to fall in February, March and April.
The number of heifers processed to date this year is just under 200 head behind last year, while the number of bullocks processed is just over 1,000 head behind last year’s levels. The number of young bulls processed has also fallen by over 1,000 head.
Factory price
Beef prices are continuing on an upward trajectory and factories remain very keen for all types of finished cattle.
DAFM figures show that the average factory price paid for R3-grade cows last week was €5/kg.
When all bonuses are included, the average price paid for an R3-grade heifer last week was €5.48/kg, while the average R3 steer price was €5.45/kg.
As the supply of finished cattle has been forecast to tighten and the demand for beef is expected to remain strong, positive price pressure is expected to remain on the price of finished cattle for the next number of weeks.