Latest beef kill figures show the weekly kill of steers (bullocks) is continuing to decline, while the supply of heifers seen a slight increase in the week ending Sunday, December 10.
Figures from the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) show a total of 37,845 head of cattle (excluding veal), were slaughtered in week 49 of this year.
The weekly kill in week 49 is over 1,700 head above the same week of last year. The final quarter of 2023 has seen higher weekly kills than the final quarter of 2022.
The table below gives an overview of the beef kill for week 49 of this year, versus the same week of last year, and the cumulative kill this year compared to last year:
Category Week ending
10-Dec-23Equivalent
Last YearCumulative
2023Cumulative
2022Young Bulls 2,768 2,945 110,303 125,499 Bulls 361 404 26,564 26,870 Steers 12,171 11,821 662,750 683,899 Cows 11,670 11,125 393,440 391,344 Heifers 10,875 9,851 465,512 478,914 Total 37,845 36,146 1,658,569 1,706,526
Despite this, the cumulative beef kill to date this year is almost 48,000 head below last year.
Weekly cow kills are remaining high, with numbers surpassing 11,000 head for the past five consecutive weeks. Last week, P-grade cows accounted for almost 70% of the overall cow kill.
The graph below shows how overall weekly beef kills this year have been comparing to last year:
Last weeks steer kill was just over 12,000 head. Weekly steer kill numbers have been in decline since mid-October, when steer kill numbers peaked at just over 18,000 head.
Despite the drop-off in steer supplies, heifer kills have remained steady, peaking at 10,900 head in late October.
To find out more on the weekly kill figures and factory prices, farmers can click here.