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Meat factories are on track to set a new record high for total numbers of cattle slaughtered in NI.
Total slaughterings to the week ending 5 October 2024 currently stand at 384,777, which is 5% ahead of the same period in 2023.
It is also 1% more than in 2022, which was the first year that the total annual kill in NI crossed 500,000 head.
The numbers coming forward during the rest of 2024 are expected to remain strong, especially given the threshold to be eligible for beef carbon reduction scheme payments drops from 30 months to 28 months from 1 January 2025.
Prime kill
The 2024 prime cattle kill to the week ending 5 October is currently at its highest level since 2007, with 288,056 steers, heifers and young bulls slaughtered at local meat plants over the period.
That is an increase of 15,682 head on the equivalent figure from 2023 and also ahead of the 2022 total.
The cow kill to 5 October is at 87,104, up from 85,060 last year and 773 head more than in the same period in 2022.
Weekly kills
Big numbers of cattle have been processed since the start of autumn, with weekly totals running at over 10,000 head for five consecutive weeks and the kill in the week ending 5 October reaching 11,441, which is the highest weekly kill for the year to date.
Despite high throughput, the trade has remained solid.
Factory quotes for prime cattle remain on 482p/kg for U-3 animals.
But with plants starting orders for Christmas kills, deals of 500p to 505p/kg have been reported this week for steers and heifers.
Young bulls are on 490p to 492p, with good-quality suckler cows priced at 390p to 410p/kg.
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