Prime cattle carcass weights hit decade high while throughput declines, LMC reports

AVERAGE carcass weights for prime cattle in Northern Ireland have risen to their highest levels in more than a decade according to the latest analysis from the Livestock and Meat Commission (LMC).

2026 figures for the first half of the year comparative to 2025 show an increase of 12.5kg to average 351.9kg for prime cattle. LMC intelligence suggests that these heavier carcass weights have contributed to offsetting some impact of reduced throughput, however overall prime beef output decreased and stood at 63,992 tonnes by the end of June 2026. Year on year, this was a decrease of 2,130 tonnes or 3.2%.

Relative data on prime cattle throughput for the first six months of this year shows 181,868 prime cattle were slaughtered in NI processing plants, this was 6.7% behind the corresponding period for 2025. Throughput figures during the first half of this year are at the lowest level in five years, with 2021 being the last time the slaughter figure was below 182,000 head, amid Covid-19 disruption.

During the same period LMC reports that the local cow kill also edged downward, with 49,101 head slaughtered, back by 11.1% from the corresponding period in 2025. The number of cows slaughtered during the first six months of 2026 was also at its lowest level since 2021, when 46,134 head were slaughtered.

Cow carcases were lighter during the first six months of 2026, year on year back by 2.6kg to 296.6kg on average. This is also the lightest average cow weight reported during the period in over a decade and resulted in a year on year cow beef production decrease of 1,968 tonnes or 11.9%.

The LMC Market Intelligence team suggest that the reduction in prime cattle slaughterings in NI occurred as a result of tighter local cattle availability, combined with a changing picture on imports from ROI. Turning to examine ROI imports, LMC data outlines that during the first half of 2026, 6,683 prime cattle were imported from ROI for slaughter and accounted for 3.7% of total prime cattle throughput. When compared to the same period in 2025 ROI prime cattle imports accounted for 2.9% of total prime cattle throughput here.

With grass supplies remaining tight during the grazing season for finishing cattle, many producers have opted to house all types of cattle or provide supplementary forage outdoors. In Ireland and GB similar conditions have prevailed and fodder is being traded nationwide to support drought-stricken businesses.

Looking to the second half of 2026 during the autumn period, prime cattle slaughter numbers are expected to increase, in line with normal seasonal trends, as cattle from grass become available and will, to some extent, counteract throughput declines recorded during the first half of the year. The Beef Carbon Reduction Scheme (BCRS) will also be seen to support slaughter cattle supplies during 2026 as prime cattle come forward before 27 months to meet the scheme criteria. However, during the year-to-date heavier average prime carcass weights indicate there has been no significant trade-off between animal finish and reduced age at slaughter. With firm demand from the continent for Irish cattle, fewer Irish cattle are expected to be available to enter NI for slaughter during the second half of the year.