Latest figures from the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) show that a total of 458,500 factory cattle were sourced from Controlled Finishing Unit (CFU) herds in 2024.
As of December 2024, there were 455 herds that had CFU or ‘feedlot’ status in Ireland indicating that the average number of cattle finished from these CFU herds last year was 1,007 head of cattle.
As of November 2022, there were 374 CFUs in Ireland and by December 2024, this figure had increased by 81 head to 455 herds with CFU status.
The table below details the number of cattle slaughtered at EU-approved plants originating from CFU herds by month from 2019-2024:
2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2023 2024 January 28,000 25,000 25,500 28,500 37,000 37,000 40,000 February 26,000 27,000 25,500 35,000 35,500 35,500 39,000 March 27,000 27,000 28,500 36,000 36,500 36,500 36,000 April 29,000 20,000 28,000 35,500 31,500 31,500 36,500 May 31,000 22,500 28,500 40,000 37,500 37,500 39,000 June 25,500 26,500 32,000 35,500 36,500 36,500 36,500 July 26,000 26,500 30,500 34,000 32,500 32,500 36,500 August 20,000 21,000 25,500 32,000 28,500 28,500 30,500 September 13,000 22,000 25,500 32,000 27,500 27,500 35,500 October 21,500 24,000 27,000 30,500 32,500 32,500 41,500 November 20,000 27,500 31,500 41,000 43,000 43,000 44,500 December 21,500 30,000 33,000 36,500 37,000 37,000 43,000 Total 288,500 299,000 341,000 416,500 415,500 415,500 458,500
More specialist beef finishing farms in Ireland are opting to switch their herds to CFU status and there are several reasons for this but bovine tuberculosis (TB) precautions are one of the main reasons.
As part of Ireland’s Bovine TB Eradication Programme, if a beef finishing herd meets the necessary criteria, it is allowed to avail of a special status – known as a CFU.
A CFU herd is a specialised finisher of beef that does not deliberately engage in the active breeding of animals.
It is a non-breeding herd which disposes of all cattle on the holding direct for slaughter, and poses a minimal risk of infecting cattle on adjacent holdings.
To be considered eligible for CFU status, the holding must fulfill at least one of the following three criteria:
- The cattle are permanently housed (never on pasture) or;
- There are no contiguous holdings with cattle or;
- The boundaries are walled, double-fenced or equivalent, so as to prevent any direct contact with cattle on contiguous holdings;
- When a herd meets the criteria to be regarded as a CFU under the Bovine TB Eradication Programme, the herd is restricted under the TB regulations and a special official supervisory and testing protocol is established;
- Such herds are not exempt from testing, reactor removal or disinfection requirements. Restricted CFU herds (feedlots) are TB tested at least once a year.
According to DAFM, the CFU status arrangement “allows the delivery of an effective level of disease risk management while controlling the risk of further disease spread in compliance with animal health legislation, and enabling business continuity in this particular type of enterprise through the inward movement of cattle”.
Cattle from CFU herds (feedlots) restricted under the TB Eradication Programme are only permitted to move to an EU-approved slaughter plant and may not be exported.