Data published by the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) in Northern Ireland (NI) suggests that farmers have taken cattle to heavier slaughter weights in 2025.
To the end of November, steers have averaged 361.1kg at slaughter, an increase of 3.65kg per head over the previous two years.
The average weight of prime heifers at slaughter is up by over 1kg per head to average 320.1kg, while young bulls have averaged 348.5kg, which is 3.4kg ahead of the 2024 average and 5.25kg more than in 2023.
Factors
There are probably a number of factors contributing to the higher weights in 2025. Favourable weather conditions across most of the grazing season meant cattle performed well at grass.
It was also a record year for beef prices, with farmers under no pressure to sell ahead of a potential drop-off in the trade.
However, there were also fewer animals finished on farms in 2025, with the number of prime cattle sold in the first 11 months of the year down 6% on the same period in 2024, at 334,676 head.
With lower numbers finished, it is likely that producers compensated by increasing slaughter weights.
The increased weights have been achieved in spite of the Beef Carbon Reduction Scheme, which pays farmers £75 per head.
In the first year of the scheme in 2024, the maximum age at slaughter was set at 30 months, falling to 28 months in 2025. In 2026, the maximum age drops to 27 months.
Cow weights
The DAERA figures also include information on cow weights at slaughter.
In 2023, cull cows averaged 297.6kg, but in both 2024 and 2025, this figure stands at just under 296kg.
Recent data from the Livestock and Meat Commission suggests that around three-quarters of cows slaughtered at NI factories originate from the dairy herd.
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