Strong supply sees weekly beef kill numbers rise almost 17%
A total of 36,600 cattle were slaughtered at Irish factories during the week ending on Sunday, November 8.
These beef kill numbers were up by almost 5,300 head, or 17%, compared with the same week last year.
Weekly kill numbers have been gradually increasing since mid-September after remaining relatively flat throughout the year, at about the 30,00-32,000 head mark.
However, number fell below 25,000 head for a few weeks in June.
Prices firming up
Beef prices have firmed up over the past week and are generally expected to remain firm to positive, for the short term at least.
With less than six weeks to go until Christmas, factories are filling up their weekly slaughter schedules with supplies that will be marketed in advance of the annual festivities.
The graph below illustrates how the 2026 kill numbers have increased compared with last year, especially in the second half of this year.
The total beef kill number to date now stands at over 7,700 head, or 0.6% above that of last year's total.
The largest increase by category in kill numbers this year has been for steers, with over 552,000 steers slaughtered at factories approved by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM).
This brings the current year's cumulative steer kill numbers to over 11,200 head, or a 2.1% increase year-on-year.
The table below details weekly beef kill numbers in the week ending Sunday, November 8, compared with the same week last year.
It also indicates the cumulative beef kill numbers to date this year, compared to the same week in 2025, as well as the change in numbers and percentages.
| Animal Type | Week ending Nov 8, 2026 | Same week last year | Weekly difference | Cumulative 2026 | Cumulative 2025 | Cumulative difference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bulls | 400 | 350 | +50 (+14.3%) | 22,115 | 21,049 | +1,066 (+5.1%) |
| Cows | 8,669 | 7,321 | +1,348 (+18.4%) | 301,487 | 305,513 | -4,026 (-1.3%) |
| Heifers | 10,749 | 9,301 | +1,448 (+15.6%) | 422,387 | 426,608 | -4,221 (-1.0%) |
| Steers | 14,528 | 12,912 | +1,616 (+12.5%) | 552,176 | 540,960 | +11,216 (+2.1%) |
| Young bulls | 2,253 | 1,430 | +823 (+57.6%) | 92,863 | 89,189 | +3,674 (+4.1%) |
| Total | 36,599 | 31,314 | +5,285 (+16.9%) | 1,391,028 | 1,383,319 | +7,709 (+0.6%) |
Looking at the weekly kill figures by category, steer and heifer kill numbers are up by 12.5% and 15.6%, respectively.
Interestingly, while the total cow kill numbers to date this year are down 1.3%, the weekly cow kill numbers have increased by 18.4%, or 1,350 head compared with the same week in 2025.
