UK

AHDB: Beef from the dairy herd continued to bolster domestic supply in 2024

Beef

BCMS data shows that 2.3 million head of cattle and calves were slaughtered in GB in 2024. This number includes animals of all age, type and sex. Of this total figure, 52% of cattle slaughtered in 2024 were born to the dairy herd, whilst the remainder were suckler born.

Posted on Mar 17 ,00:25

AHDB: Beef from the dairy herd continued to bolster domestic supply in 2024

In 2024, 1.5 million cattle aged 12-30 months were slaughtered in GB.

Suckler-bred cattle made up the largest proportion of prime cattle supply in 2024, by type, accounting for 56%. However, we have seen the proportion of suckler-bred cattle in slaughter totals steadily decline over the last ten years, in line with the long term decline in the population of the GB cattle herd.

Dairy-beef continued to grow its share of prime cattle supply, accounting for 37% of cattle slaughtered age 12-30 months in 2024. This continues trends we saw last year, where dairy-beef maintains prime beef supply, counteracting declines in both suckler beef and dairy bull calves.\

berdeen Angus X cattle made up the greatest proportion of total GB slaughter for the second consecutive year in 2024. Breaking this down further by type we can see that 57% of these animals were dairy-beef, with the remainder suckler-born.

Limousin X cattle were the second highest proportion of GB slaughter, with 80% of these cattle suckler-bred. In contrast, we saw 84% of British Blue X cattle slaughtered in 2024 were dairy-beef animals.

These differences highlight the variation between breeds, with some breeds still heavily reliant on the suckler supply whilst others are much more prominent in dairy beef. This difference likely reflects the differences in qualities between breeds and how this relates to the objective of the producer, with dairy beef supply chains often prioritising traits such as easy calving on the dairy farm, whereas suckler producers may prioritise growth and management traits.

 NEWSLETTER - Stay informed with the latest news!

Comments





Similar articles

BRAZIL

Gilberto Tomazoni, CEO JBS: Agriculture must be at the center of the discussion at COP30

Gilberto Tomazoni: "Agriculture must be at the center of the discussion" With the aim of increas...


Read more Read more
BRAZIL

Brazilian beef gains new market in Europe with the opening of Bosnia and Herzegovina

The decision, celebrated by the Brazilian Association of Meat Exporting Industries (ABIEC) and th...


Read more Read more
ARGENTINE

USDA Argentine projects an 8.9 percent drop in beef exports this year

Slaughter production would fall 4% to 13.4 million head. In the first two months of the year, sla...


Read more Read more
Websolutions by Angular Software and SpiderClass