The prospect that farmers in Northern Ireland (NI) will be producing more finished beef cattle in 2016 and 2017 has been confirmed by the latest analysis from the Livestock and Meat Commission (LMC).

The analysis shows that the number of beef-sired cattle under 30 months in NI at the end of July 2015 was up 4% (or 27,198 head) on July 2014, with 702,423 cattle on farms.

The largest increases are seen in the younger age groups. The total number of beef-sired calves registered in the first half of 2015 is up by 9% compared with the same period in 2014. The number of dairy-sired male calves is up by 2.35%.

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The increases are mainly being driven by dairy producers, with the last agricultural survey in NI (December 2014) showing the dairy herd had increased by 9% from 2013, while the beef herd was down 2%. In total, 28% of beef-sired calves are from the dairy herd.

Tight supply in the short term

In the short term, finished cattle numbers in NI should remain relatively tight with LMC analysis highlighting that the number of beef-sired cattle in the 18-to-24-month category is down 1.2% compared with July 2014 and in the 24-to-30-month category it is down 4%.

However, more beef cattle from NI will come on to the market in 2016 and 2017.

A similar situation is occurring in the Republic of Ireland, where estimates suggest that between 150,000 and 200,000 more cattle will come through for processing in future years. From January to May 2015 calf births in the south are up 6.6%, with 94,000 more calves from the dairy herd and 16,000 more from the suckler herd.

With supply and demand in the beef industry in a fine balance, finding new markets for Irish cattle (north and south) must be a high priority.