Across the first four weeks of 2026, weights at slaughter of prime cattle in NI are up significantly on the same period in 2025, data published by DAERA shows.

During January 2026, steers at slaughter averaged 370.6kg, which is up 14.5kg on the 356.1kg over the same period in 2025. Heifer weights have increased 9kg to average 329.2kg, while young bulls are up 11.6kg at 352.9kg.

Those increases have come about even though the maximum age at slaughter in the Beef Carbon Reduction (BCR) scheme dropped from 28 months to a maximum of 27 months at the start of the year.

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However, a number of other factors have combined to ensure higher weights are being achieved, including a favourable grazing season across much of 2025. In addition, there is plenty of silage on farms, concentrate prices have been steady over the last year and with store cattle a very strong trade, finishers are keen to maximise weights at slaughter.

But fundamentally, at current feed costs relative to finished cattle prices, it is paying finishers to take their animals to higher weights, even if relatively mediocre performance is being achieved. If we take the example of steers on a finishing diet of 8kg per head of a fattener ration costing £265/t along with 15kg of silage valued at £40/t, it works out at a daily feed cost of £2.72.

That diet should be capable of supporting daily weight gains of well over 1kg per head, but even if just 1kg is being achieved, it is a daily carcase gain of around 0.54kg. At an average beef price of 640p/kg and a 54% kill-out, it equates to a daily gain worth £3.46 or a margin over feed costs of 74p per head per day.

If cattle are achieving 1.3kg of daily weight gain on the above diet, this daily margin is around the £1.80 mark. At the other end of the calculation, cattle just need to achieve daily liveweight gains of 0.8kg to cover feed costs.

Gradual

Looking back at average weights of prime cattle at slaughter across 2025, it is clear that those weights gradually increased as the year progressed. The highest monthly average for steers and heifers was seen in November at 368.7kg and 325.4kg respectively. The low point for steers was January 2025 at 356.1kg, while for heifers it was in March 2025 at 316.4kg.

Cows

While weights of prime cattle at slaughter are up in January 2026, it is a different scenario for cull cows, given the ever-increasing influence of dairy culls on the overall slaughter mix.

Across the first four weeks of 2026, cull cows have averaged 296.9kg at slaughter, down 4.8kg on the 301.7kg from the same month in 2025.