The weekly sheep kill is back up to over 61,000 head having fallen back the previous week on account of the four-day week, due to the bank holiday.
Figures from the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) show that 61,297 sheep were processed last week (week ending Sunday, November 12), which is an increase of 10,133 head from the week prior.
The supply of lambs/hoggets was the only category to have reduced its supply in the last week, as supplies of spring lambs, ewes and rams, and light lambs all increased.
The table below gives an overview of the sheep kill for the week ending Sunday, November 12, (week 45) and the cumulative kill to date this year compared to the same time period of 2022:
Type 2023
week 452023 cumulative 2022 weekly 2022 cumulative Weekly
differenceCumulative difference 23 vs. 22 % weekly difference 23 vs. 22 % cumulative difference Lambs/hoggets 196 982,324 467 903,593 -271 78,731 -58% 9% Spring lambs 52,668 1,199,111 53,519 1,282,921 -851 -83,810 -2% -7% Ewes and rams 8,422 293,193 9,427 338,885 -1,005 -45,692 -11% -13% Light lambs 11 149 2 141 9 8 450% 6% Total 61,297 2,474,777 63,415 2,525,540 -2,118 -50,763 -3% -2%
Taking a look at this year’s throughput figures to date, 2,474,777 have been processed so far.
Of that figure, 982,324 have been hoggets, 1,199,111 were spring lambs, with the rest made up of ewes and rams (293,193) and a small portion of light lambs (149 head).
As the table above indicates, the sheep kill in week 45 was 61,297 head, down 2,118 head or 3% from the same week of last year.
In week 45, there were 52,668 spring lambs slaughtered, and a total of 1,199,111 in 2023 so far.
The cumulative supply of ewes and rams is behind by over 45,692 head or 13% on last year.
As supplies of spring lamb increase, the general manager of Irish Country Meats (ICM), James Smyth has urged farmers to take care in selecting which lambs to bring to the factory.
Smyth said: “Some people are having difficulty finishing lambs and others are not. Be careful with your selection, it was never more important to check for flesh and check the proper weights.”