50,178 spring lambs made up 85% of the throughput in week 36 of this year, according to the latest sheep kill figures from the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM).
A total of 59,091 sheep were slaughtered in week 36 (ending Sunday, September 10), bringing this year’s total throughput figures to date to 1,945,203 sheep processed.
Of that figure, which will soon cross two million, 979,990 have been hoggets, 755,584 were spring lambs, with the rest made up of ewes and rams (209,499), and a small portion of light lambs (130 head).
The table below gives an overview of the sheep kill for the week ending Sunday, September 10, (week 36) and the cumulative kill to date this year compared to the same time period of 2022:
Type 2023
week 362023 cumulative 2022 weekly 2022 cumulative Weekly
differenceCumulative difference 23 vs. 22 % weekly difference 23 vs. 22 % cumulative difference Lambs/Hoggets 362 979,990 1,511 896,892 -1,149 83,098 -76% 9% Spring Lambs 50,178 755,584 45,637 823,757 -4,541 -68,173 10% -8% Ewes and Rams 8,551 209,499 13,557 237,932 -5,006 -28,433 -37% -12% Light Lambs 0 130 4 111 -4 19 -100% 17% Total 59,091 1,945,203 60,709 1,958,692 -1,618 -13,489 -3% -1%
As the table above indicates, the sheep kill in week 36 was 59,091 head, down 1,618 head or 3% from the same week last year.
In week 36, there were 50,178 spring lambs slaughtered, and a total of 755,584 in 2023 so far.
However, this is 4,541 fewer spring lambs processed when compared with 12 months ago, which is a 10% reduction.
Ewe and ram throughput totalled 8,551 in week 36, bringing the total figure so far in 2023 to 209,499 slaughtered.
The graph below shows how the weekly sheep kills this year have been comparing to last year:
According to DAFM figures, the cumulative difference in the hogget kill this year is 83,098 head, or 9% ahead of the same time period last year, with 979,990 hoggets processed in the first 36 weeks of this year.
There is a 76% decrease in the number of hoggets slaughtered so far this year, seeing only 362 being processed in week 36.
In week 36, there were no light lambs slaughtered, while altogether in 2023, 130 have been sent for processing.