Beef kill: 2025 cattle supplies slow to rise as prices rocket
Early 2025 weekly beef kill numbers have been slow to return to pre-Christmas levels but prices have managed to increase further.
The first full week of 2025 commenced on Monday, January 6, with the beef kill totalling just over 31,000 head, down from 38,500 head in the week commencing Monday, December 9.
Weather conditions are partially to blame for the reduced kill numbers last week with snow and ice causing logistical challenges in getting cattle transported to factories.
The graph below shows how beef kill numbers as of the week ending Sunday, January 13, have failed to return to pre-Christmas levels:
Procurement staff are confident kill numbers have increased for the week commencing Monday, January 13, with strong beef prices drawing some cattle out to factory lairages earlier than usual.
The table below details the beef kill for the week ending Sunday, January 12, this year versus the same week of last year, and the total beef kill to date this year versus the same time period of last year:
| Type | Week ending Sun, Jan 12 | Equivalent last year | Cumulative 2025 | Cumulative 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Young bulls | 3,167 | 3,464 | 6,122 | 6,130 |
| Bulls | 238 | 295 | 426 | 563 |
| Steers | 11,045 | 11,679 | 21,594 | 21,921 |
| Cows | 5,681 | 8,922 | 12,161 | 15,847 |
| Heifers | 10,895 | 10,811 | 20,799 | 20,574 |
| Total | 31,026 | 35,171 | 61,102 | 65,035 |
The slow start to 2025 beef kill numbers comes as a drop of 87,000 head has been forecast in the Irish beef cattle supply this year with the majority of this shortfall expected to materialise in the first half of the year.
Speaking at the Bord Bia Meat Marketing Seminar which took place at the Killashee Hotel in Naas, Co. Kildare on Friday, January 17, the Bord Bia beef sector manager Mark Zieg highlighted that beef supplies are expected to fall by 5% this year.
He said that in 2024, the total beef kill stood at 1.8 million head which was up 22,000 head or 1% on 2023 kill numbers.
The increase last year came from a rise of 3,000 head in the prime kill, a rise of 29,000 head in the cow kill and a drop of 9,000 head in the other category (veal and bulls over 24 months).
Looking to 2025, Zieg said that the supply of prime cattle is forecasted to drop by 64,000 head with a drop of 8,000 head forecasted in the cow category and a further drop of 15,000 head forecast in the other category this year.
