Key facts
- Young bull beef supply is steady year-on-year.
- Supplies of all other cattle types are down.
- Last week's beef kill increased by 3.8% compared to the same week last year.
- Cumulative beef kill to date this year is 10.2% below last year.
- Young bulls constitute 7.5% of the total cattle slaughtered this year.
Latest beef kill figures indicate that while young bull supplies remain steady compared to the previous year, the supply of all other cattle types has decreased. In the week ending Sunday, May 31, the total beef kill saw an increase of almost 1,100 head, or 3.8%, compared to the same week last year. This marks the fourth consecutive week of increased supplies year-on-year. However, the cumulative cattle slaughter to date this year remains over 77,000 head, or 10.2%, below the same period last year. Young bulls, which make up a small percentage of the total beef kill (7.5%), have shown signs of stabilizing after a decade-long decline. The market preference for steer beef and the specialized nature of bull finishing operations are cited as reasons for the historical decline in bull beef kill figures. The report anticipates that the gap between this year's cumulative kill and last year's will narrow as the year progresses, with weekly supplies expected to remain steady.