The number of cows culled in Scotland has rocketed 17% on the year as our national beef herd continues to contract, according to Defra's latest slaughter figures.

Scottish abattoirs alone slaughtered an extra 11,540 cull cows in 2022, with many more cattle heading south to beef processors in England.

The jump in Scottish kill numbers for cows is the highest in the UK, with England and Wales recording a more modest rise in cull cows of 2% to 476,089 animals.

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Farming leaders and auctioneers have been voicing concerns for months that cow numbers must be falling sharply, given the number of dispersals and busy cull cattle sales that marts have been handling.

The background to this is the rising costs of production, uncertainty over future beef support and climate change target threats, which are all contributing to knocking farmers' confidence in the beef sector.

Many of the cows which are being culled look to have already produced a calf earlier in the year, though, with total calf registrations for the first nine months of the year only recording a modest drop of 0.1%, or 500 fewer calves, according to BCMS registrations.

The increased amount of beef genetics in the dairy herd has also shown up in the figures as the number of beef-sired animals rose 0.7% in the year to October.

Despite record numbers of cows culled, there seems to be little let up in demand for cow beef. Some abattoirs had been lifting their price for over 30-month cattle to £4.10/kg this week for R grades.

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Chairman of the Scottish Beef Association, Paul Ross, said: “There had been concern for cow numbers in Scotland for some months now. Defra's figures prove that more cows are being culled in Scotland.

"This could lead to increased pressure on processors to ensure enough throughout to be viable in the future. In the last year, it is the input cost rises which are making it hard for farmers to make a profit.

"Various other countries in Europe got support to help them through the Ukraine war cost input crisis, but we have had nothing in the UK, where we also have a lot of cow grazing land being purchased for trees displacing cows in the Scottish uplands.

"Another part of it is the uncertainty of the future and the Scottish government doesn’t seem to be in a hurry to show us a path,” he pointed out.

Recent dairy cow figures also show a cut in herds and animals with the full story on page 22 of our newspaper.