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Steers outweigh heifers in 2020 carcase weight breakdown
Thursday, 4 February 2021
By Charlie Reeve
During 2020, the average weight of steers coming forward continues to be higher than heifers in GB abattoirs.
Looking at the distribution of all the cattle coming forward, 69% of all heifers came through with an average carcase weight of between 300-400kg, with 26.8% under 300kg and just 3.8% over the 400kg mark.
The steer weight distribution differed slightly, a touch heavier across the board and skewed to slightly heavier weights. 73.6% of all steers are coming through with an average carcase weight of between 300-400kg. with 9.8% under 300kg and just 16.6% over the 400kg mark.
Each abattoir is free to set its own payment terms to compete for cattle. Although there is a degree of variation, some abattoirs stop paying per kg above the 440-450kg mark. This generally accounts for a relatively small proportion of total throughput, but indicates a limited demand for the heaviest cattle. Steers are more likely to be affected by this than heifers due to the higher percentage of steers fitting in this higher weight band.
The weight distribution for cows was much flatter, with a more even distribution across all of the weight bands. Cows had the highest percentage in excess of 440kg with 3.2% of the total throughput exceeding this weight.
67.9% of all young bulls had an average carcase weight of between 300-400kg in 2020, with 17% under 300kg and 15.2% over the 400kg mark.
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