Weekly beef kills in June varied in numbers from approximately 28,500 to 31,800 cattle/week but the July cattle supply to factories has been much more steady.

According to figures from the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM), weekly beef kills in July varied from 32,300 to 32,800 - which was much more steady than had been seen in the previous month.

While the composition of the cattle supply varied with trends of fewer bullocks (steers) and larger numbers of cows, numbers remained relatively steady throughout the month.

The graph below gives an overview of the beef kill in the last 12 weeks of this year, versus the same 12 weeks of last year:

Cattle supplies tend to increase increase into the autumn months, as more cattle come fit off grass but industry forecasts have projected supplies to be tighter this year.

Adding to this, conversations with factory cattle procurement staff would suggest most dairy farmers have moved cull cows on earlier this year which could well lead to a drop in cow supplies coming into the back end of the year.

The table below gives an overview of the beef kill numbers in the final full week of July this year, versus the same week last year and the cumulative kill this year versus last year:

The total number of cattle slaughtered at DAFM-approved factories this year is 20,854 head above the number slaughtered in the same time period of last year.

Young bull and steer kill numbers have both declined while cow and heifer numbers have increased.