With Ireland selling half its total beef production to Britain and Northern Ireland selling two thirds of its production there, numbers of cattle there will have a direct impact on our trade.

The Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB) is the levy-funded organisation that has a role similar to Bord Bia, has published the statistics for the first half of 2015.

AHDB forecast at the beginning of 2015 were that there would be a 3% to 5% fall in cattle killed in 2015, based on number of calves born in the spring of 2013.

Despite higher numbers in January and February, the lower kills since in the last four months has meant that, at 958,000 head, the total number of prime cattle slaughtered at UK abattoirs in the first half of the year is 3% down on the 2014 figure.

Carcase weights have increased, however, which means that the amount of beef produced is down slightly less at 7,800 tonnes at 339,000 tonnes which is 2% lower than the 2014 figure from steers, heifers and young bulls.

Cow numbers are still slightly ahead of 2014 though they have dipped below 2014 levels in May and June.

Cows killed this year have been lighter than 2014 with cow beef volume down 1% at 89,500 tonnes.

Poor milk price no doubt encouraged strong culling and low beef prices in the early months of 2015 will have discouraged feeding to add weight.

Northern Ireland

In Northern Ireland, cattle throughput at the factories is down from 227,104 head to 222,492 a 2% decline so far this year though there has been a strong increase in kill over the past couple of weeks. Irish numbers are back almost 40000 on 2014 from 903,198 head to 862,754 head.

Prices are now tracking ahead of 2014 levels as by this time they had reached the bottom in Britain before turning upwards in the autumn.