Despite this, the proportion of prime cattle from a beef-cross origin was at 31% - a slight increase when compared to last year's figures.
The remaining 12% of cattle slaughtered in the second quarter of this year in Northern Ireland consisted of dairy-sired cattle. This figure remains unchanged from the second quarter of 2020, according to the LMC.Beef kill - steers
According to the LMC's report, there have been some changes in the proportion of steers meeting respective conformation scores during the second quarter of this year, relative to the same period in 2020. The majority of price reports for steers in Northern Ireland saw an R or O grade with 35% and 38% awarded these conformation scores respectively.Meanwhile, the proportion of steers meeting a U and P grade increased by 1% during quarter two this year, relative to the same period last year, totaling 18% and 9% respectively.
Similarly, the fat class achieved by steers in local plants in Northern Ireland has remained similar to last year's figures during the second quarter. The proportion of steers meeting a fat class of two and three marginally decreased to 18% and 58% respectively. Steers meeting a fat class of four increased slightly to 22%, while steers meeting a fat class one and five remained very low.Heifers
Similar to steers, the majority of price reports for heifers in Northern Ireland were R or O grades during the second quarter of 2021. The proportion of heifers meeting an R-grade was 42% while 37% met an O-grade.Meanwhile, the proportion meeting a U-grade declined marginally from 2020 to total 15% and the proportion meeting a P-grade remained steady at 6%.
The proportion of price-reported heifers meeting fat class two and three decreased slightly to 7% and 41% respectively. Heifers meeting a fat score of four increased by 2% to 47%. Meanwhile, heifers meeting a fat class of one and five remained low at 1% and 4% respectively.