Almost one in three prime cattle processed at abattoirs in NI is now sired by either Angus or Hereford bulls.

For the year to date, around 22% of the weekly prime cattle kill is registered as Angus, with a further 7% registered as Hereford, according to data compiled by the Livestock and Meat Commission (LMC).

Last year, the proportion of Angus in the weekly kill was typically 20%, up from 17% in 2018

The recent growth in native breed numbers has mainly been driven by Angus, especially coming off dairy herds. Last year, the proportion of Angus in the weekly kill was typically 20%, up from 17% in 2018.

For the period from the start of January to 17 May 2020, the prime kill has totalled 106,198 head, with Angus numbers standing at 23,458, and Hereford numbers at 7,505.

Dairy sired animals

During the same time period, the LMC analysis also shows that around 42% of the prime cattle processed at NI plants originated from a dairy dam. This is a marginal drop on 2019, when 43% of the prime cattle kill originated from a dairy cow.

Cow kill

In terms of the cow kill, for the year to week ending 21 May it has totalled 34,166 head, which works out at an average throughput of 1,708 per week.

While the total cow kill is 1,300 more than the same period last year, it is well short of the 40,124 cows processed in 2018.

Since mid-April, the weekly cow kill has averaged just over 1,200, compared to around 2,000 head in the early part of the year.

Two in every three cows processed at local factories are sourced from dairy herds.

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