Over 1.1 million calves have been born in the Republic of Ireland in the first 11 weeks of this year, latest figures from the Irish Cattle Breeding Federation (ICBF) show.
According to the ICBF’s database, the total 2023 calf birth registrations in Ireland as of Friday, March 17, was 1,113,894 calves.
The number of calves born to date this year is currently 6,393 head of calves ahead of the 1.107 million calves that were born in the first 11 weeks of 2022.
161,000 suckler-bred calves have been registered to date this year and 952,870 dairy-bred calves.
Just under 14.5% of all calves born to date this year are suckler-bred while over 85.5% of the calves have been born on dairy farms.
The trends observed in calf births reflects the trend seen across many parts of Ireland over the past number of years where the suckler herd has been falling in size and the dairy herd has continued to expand.
The number of calves born from the dairy herd has increased by just under 16,300 head to date this year while the number of calves born from the suckler herd has fallen by over 9,800 head when compared to last year.
Irish calves
A total of 116,716 calves were registered in Ireland in week 11 of this year. That figure is 4,553 head behind the number of calves registered in week 11 of last year.
According to the database, 23,886 suckler-bred calves were registered last week while 92,830 calves were registered from dairy herds last week.
3,541 fewer suckler-bred calves were registered in week 11 of this year compered to the same week last year, while the number of dairy-bred calves registered in week 11 of this year has remained on par with last year.