Last week’s sheep kill (week ending Sunday, October 22) witnessed a decrease on the week before, with all categories of sheep seeing a decline in throughput.
Figures from the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) show that 57,499 sheep were processed last week, representing a decrease of 3,080 head from the week before.
Ewe and ram throughput witnessed a decrease last week, of 1,039 head, totalling 9,641 head.
Furthermore, spring lamb supplies decreased last week to 47,647 head, which represents a fall of 1,986 head on the previous week.
The table below gives an overview of the sheep kill for the week ending Sunday, October 22, (week 42) and the cumulative kill to date this year compared to the same time period in 2022.
Type 2023
week 422023 cumulative 2022 weekly 2022 cumulative Weekly
differenceCumulative difference 23 vs. 22 % weekly difference 23 vs. 22 % cumulative difference Lambs/hoggets 211 981,438 551 902,186 -340 79,252 -62% 9% Spring lambs 47,647 1,053,871 48,952 1,132,200 -1,305 -78,329 -3% -7% Ewes and rams 9,641 268,681 11,285 311,126 -1,644 -42,445 -15% -14% Light lambs 0 138 0 137 0 1 0% 1% Total 57,499 2,304,128 60,788 2,345,649 -3,289 -41,521 -5% -2%
Taking a look at this year’s throughput figures to date, 2,304,128 have been processed so far.
Of that figure, 981,438 have been hoggets, 1,053,871 were spring lambs, with the rest made up of ewes and rams (268,681) and a small portion of light lambs (138 head).
If we compare figures to date this year, against the same period in 2022, we can see that the total number of sheep slaughtered is behind 41,521 head; 42,445 fewer ewes and rams have been processed, while 78,329 fewer spring lambs have been slaughtered.
A higher number of hoggets killed in 2023 has propped up sheep kill figures, with a total of 79,252 more processed to-date this year than in 2022.