Analysis of factory grades and weights has shown that over 35% of beef-bred steers did not meet the required carcase specifications on weight (less than 400kg), while 33% did not meet the required fat and conformation scores in 2013 (O= conformation or better, 2+ to 4= on fat score).

Over 28% of young bulls from suckler cows slaughtered in 2013 did not meet the required specification based on conformation, while a massive 45% did not meet the specification on weight.

In terms of heifers, 28.6% of those killed in 2013 did not meet the specification based on carcase conformation and fat score. On a positive note, just 4% of heifers did not meet spec due to carcase weight.

It should be noted that, despite being able to identify the percentage missing the spec based on carcase weight, fat score and conformation, we cannot confirm the exact proportion of steers missing out on the spec, as there are no figures available for the proportion of cattle that have had more than four movements, are over 30 months of age at slaughter and have not been in final residency for more than the required 70 days.

Analysis of the Department of Agriculture figures shows that 67% of steers, 71.4% of heifers and 71.7% of young bulls met the required factory specification based on fat score and grade.

Our research took us deeper than just fat score and conformation.

The Irish Farmers Journal has sourced figures on the percentages of cattle killed by carcase weight.

These figures have been further broken down based on whether the animal is bred from a suckler dam or a dairy dam.

If we look at steers, just 65% of those from suckler dams had a slaughter weight of under 400kg, or just 51% had a slaughter weight under 380kg.

This is in stark contrast with cattle from dairy dams, where 94% of those slaughtered in 2013 had a carcase weight of under 400kg, and 88% under 380kg.

Table 1 shows that only 41% of young bulls from the suckler herd slaughtered in 2013 had a carcase weight of under 380kg, with just 55% with a carcase weight of less than 400kg.

Their equivalent from dairy-bred dams had just 6% with a carcase weight of over 400kg.

In contrast, the lighter finishing weights of heifers resulted in just 4% having a carcase weight of over 400kg and just 8% being over 380kg. 

Price cuts

The factories have been unanimous in saying that the specs have not changed. Yet, farmers have received cuts in price where they have not before now.

It is clear that once cattle numbers increased, the processors have used carcase specifications as tools to reduce the prices paid for cattle, simply by adhering more strictly to the specifications.

Farmers should be aware that not all factories operate the same weight limits.

Based on their markets, some factories are imposing penalties on carcases over 400kg while others have limited markets for carcases up to 420kg without price penalties, but these are in a minority of cases.

In most factories, price penalties of 10c/kg are being imposed, along with the 12c/kg loss in QA bonus.

One of the direct impacts of the penalties being imposed on heavy carcases has been a swing by some farmers into finishing heifers, resulting in increased demand for heifers in the live trade.

Price penalties of 10c to 20c/kg on the base price are being imposed on cattle over 30 months of age. In addition, these cattle are losing out on the 12c/kg bonus.

In many cases, these cuts will reduce the price paid to the equivalent of cow price. But is the beef from steers over 30 months not of higher quality and value than that of a 10-year-old cow?

The combination of the need for cattle to be under 30 months, have less than four movements and minimum residency periods of 70 days on farms prior to slaughter for farmers to get the quality assurance (QA) bonus of 12c/kg has had a sizeable impact on the live trade of cattle.

Restrictions on the number of movements have reduced the number of times an animal can be sold, impacting on the volume of sales through marts.

In addition, the age limit of 30 months for steers and heifers, and 16 months for bulls, has impacted on demand for cattle, which could fall out of spec, thus reducing prices. 

More females slaughtered

In 2001, just 42% of the national kill was female. This increased to 49% in 2010 and reached 50% in 2013.

The live export market has demanded predominantly bulls for the high-value Italian market and, more recently, the Libyan market has been predominantly for bulls.

Even though live exports reduced substantially in 2011 and 2012, the percentage of females in the national kill did not. This would indicate increased levels of culling.

2013 saw the highest cow kill since 2001, due mainly to very strong cull cow beef prices. At the same time, the number of heifers being slaughtered reduced as farmers upgraded their herds.  

Higher prices

2010 saw record lives exports of up to 338,000 and low beef prices. In 2010, the average R4 steer price was approximately €3.05/kg.

The impact of this was not to be felt until 2012, when the high lives exports of 2009 and 2010 resulted in a shortage of store and finished cattle. This coincided with lower cattle numbers across Europe and the UK and higher beef prices.

In 2012, the average R grade steer price was approximately €4.05/kg and prices peaked in spring 2013 at approximately €4.60/kg, including VAT.

However, that shortage of live cattle in 2012 had a profound impact on the beef trade up to now.

In 2012, live exports dropped to 160,400 head. The majority of the reduction came from a fourfold decrease in the number of Friesian bull calves exported from the country.

Much of these retained lesser-quality cattle had a significant impact on the trade in the winter of 2013 and spring of 2014, as factories could pick and choose from the slaughter-fit cattle available and started to hammer farmers with lesser-quality cattle with price penalties, particularly for Friesian bulls. Throughout 2014, farmers have been hit with lower prices for factory-fit stock, difficulties at times of getting cattle killed and, in some cases, price cuts on out-of-spec stock.

Cattle quality improves

One striking trend in the past few years has been the increase in the percentage of cattle killing out in U grades. This has come about mainly from reduced numbers of better-quality, muscled cattle from the suckler herd being exported and increased volumes of them being slaughtered in the domestic market.

Since 2010, the percentage of steers and heifers achieving U grades has increased.

In 2010, just 7.4% of heifers graded U. By 2012, this had increased to 12.5% and further increased in 2013. During the same time period, the percentage of steers grading U increased from 8.5% in 2010 to 10.6% in 2012 and 12.4% in 2013. In terms of young bulls and cows, the percentages stayed similar.

If we look at the percentages of the national kill that graded R, steers saw a decrease of 8.8% from 2010 to 2013, from 42.1% to 34.8%.

During the same period, the percentage of heifers grading R fell by just 3.5%. The reason for these decreases was an increase in lesser-quality steers from the dairy herd passing through slaughter houses. This was particularly evident in the case of steers.

However, one of the more evident trends was the increase in the percentage of young bulls grading O over the same time period. In 2010, 20% of young bulls slaughtered graded O, but by 2013, this had increased to 26.2%.

This was a direct impact of increased numbers of Friesian bulls being slaughtered over the four-year period, coinciding with reduced Friesian bull calf exports.

It should also be pointed out that over the past five to six years, the demand for Angus and Hereford beef has increased. However, the majority of the increases in supply of these types of beef have been from a dairy origin and these are predominantly O and R grades.

Fodder crisis hits fat

The first five months of 2013 saw farmers faced with a fodder crisis of unprecedented levels, the effects of which were clearly seen in an increased proportion of cattle being killed with lower fat covers as farmers moved cattle which were coming fit for slaughter earlier. The percentage of steers being killed in a fat class of 2 increased from 11.1% in 2011 to 19.3% in the first half of 2013.

The percentage of heifers grading a fat score of 2 increased from 9% to 11.1% during the same time period.

There was also an increase in the percentage of cows grading in fat score 2.

Young bulls saw little change, mainly due to the fact that they are harder covered with fat and are intensively finished.

If we look to fat score 4, during the same period in 2013, 10% less steers, approximately 4% less heifers and 5.3% less cows graded fat score 4.