Fall in beef kill coming from cow and young bull categories
The drop-off in weekly beef kill supplies is coming predominantly from fewer cows and young bulls being slaughtered, latest Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) figures indicate.
In the week ending Sunday, May 25, 28,800 cattle were slaughtered at DAFM-approved factories, which was 2,400 head below the kill from the same week of last year.
The majority of this drop-off is coming from reduced cow and young bull kill numbers, with steer kill numbers on par with and heifer kill numbers down slightly on the corresponding week of 2024.
The table below details cattle supplies in the week ending Sunday, May 25, compared to the same week of last year, and the cumulative kill to date this year compared to last year:
| Category | Week ending Sunday, May 25 | Equivalent Last Year | Cumulative 2025 | Cumulative 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Young Bulls | 2,009 | 2,779 | 48,378 | 50,398 |
| Bulls | 539 | 637 | 10,068 | 10,587 |
| Steers | 11,249 | 11,244 | 266,467 | 256,035 |
| Cows | 6,059 | 7,195 | 162,817 | 175,043 |
| Heifers | 8,945 | 9,353 | 235,543 | 211,700 |
| Total | 28,801 | 31,208 | 723,273 | 703,763 |
The young bull kill has been in decline for several years now, and factories had been highly vocal in the past about the reduced interest in young bulls.
While factories are not actively encouraging or discouraging young bull beef production, most of the major beef processors in Ireland are happy to accept well-finished young bulls from suppliers with which they have established working relationships.
Beef kill numbers have been in decline since late February but had still been running above 2024 kills until May of this year, when weekly supplies dipped under weekly kills from May 2024.
The graph below illustrates how weekly beef kill numbers this year have been comparing to last year:
The drop-off in supplies has managed to edge the beef prices paid to farmers up slightly in the past two weeks.
Most factories have reduced the number of days they are killing as supply forecasts indicate beef cattle availability to be reduced for the remainder of the year.
Despite the drop-off in cattle supplies, the total number of cattle slaughtered to date this year is still 19,500 head above last year.
The initial projection for the 2025 Irish factory prime cattle beef kill was a drop of 5%, but Bord Bia has recently revised this figure to 7-8% as a result of the strong supply in the first four months of this year.
