The number of sheep slaughtered in week 44 (ending Sunday, November 5) has been the lowest number since week 32 in August 2023.
The latest sheep kill figures from the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) have shown that there were 51,164 sheep sent for processing in week 44, which is significantly higher than the week 32 figure of 46,215 head.
The number of sheep killed in week 44 is considerably lower than the previous week, which saw 7,024 more slaughtered.
The lower number of sheep killed is owed to the recent bank holiday (Monday, October 30), as many factories would only be killing for four days in the week.
The table below gives an overview of the sheep kill for the week ending Sunday, November 5, (week 44) and the cumulative kill to date this year compared to 2022:
Type 2023
week 442023 cumulative 2022 weekly 2022 cumulative Weekly
differenceCumulative difference Lambs/hoggets 416 982,128 618 903,126 -202 79,002 Spring lambs 43,638 1,146,443 45,875 1,229,402 -2,237 -82,959 Ewes and rams 7,110 284,771 7,476 329,458 -366 -44,687 Light lambs 0 138 2 139 -2 1 Total 51,164 2,413,480 53,971 2,462,125 -2,807 -48,645
Taking a look at this year’s throughput figures to date, 2,413,480 have been processed so far.
Of that figure, 982,128 have been hoggets, 1,146,443 were spring lambs, with the rest made up of ewes and rams (284,771) and a small portion of light lambs (138 head).
In week 44, there were no light lambs slaughtered, while altogether in 2023, 138 have been sent for processing.
Ewe and ram throughput totalled 7,110 in week 44, bringing the total figure so far in 2023 to 284,771 slaughtered.
The total number of sheep slaughtered in 2023 has reduced by 2% when compared to the same time in 2022, which saw 2,413,480 sheep slaughtered up to, and including week 44.
As the graph above indicates, the factory sheep supply dropped off significantly in week 44 of this year, and showed a similar decrease in the same week last year.
However, it remains to be seen if there will be an increase in the number of sheep processed next week, which was the case twelve months ago.