The cumulative sheep kill in the first 21 weeks of this year has crossed 1.1 million head – up 3% or 28,670 head from the same time period last year.

Latest figures from the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) have shown that while the supply of hoggets has increased by 6%, the ewe kill is on par with last year and the spring lamb kill is down 22% on last year.

As the table below indicates, the sheep kill in the week ending Sunday, May 28, was 49,529 head, up 860 head or 2% from the same week of last year.

The table below gives an analysis of the sheep kill to date this year. Click on the table and scroll left or right to view all the data.

20232022Difference2023 v 2022 % difference
Category:WeeklyCumulativeWeeklyCumulativeWeeklyCumulativeWeeklyCumulative
Lambs/Hoggets: 18,373919,87913,354865,4575,01954,42238%6%
Spring Lambs:25,65990,81029,217116,338-3,558-25,528-12%-22%
Ewes and Rams:5,494110,7286,088110,995-594-267-10%0%
Total (including light lambs):49,5291,121,52348,6691,092,85386028,6702%3%
Source: DAFM

The cumulative hogget kill to date this year stands at 919,879 head, up by almost 54,500 head or 6% on the same time period last year.

Looking at spring lambs, the cumulative kill is just under 91,000 head, down 22% or 25,500 head on the same time period of last year.

The graph below shows the weekly sheep kill in the first 21 weeks of this year versus last year:

The ewe and ram kill to date this year stands at just under 111,000 head, down by just under 300 head or 0% on the same time period of last year.

Supplies of spring lambs are expected to remain low for the coming weeks as prolonged wet weather in March and April has subdued lamb performance in many sheep flocks.

However, conversations with sheep farmers around the country would suggest lamb performance has picked up in recent weeks with the arrival of more settled, warmer weather conditions.