The calf export market is a key outlet for Irish calves bred from the dairy herd, with over 215,000 calves exported from Ireland to date this year.

These calves are exported to customers in Northern Ireland as well as further afield to countries such as the Netherlands, Spain, Italy, Croatia, and others.

In the past two years, the prices being paid for calves has increased significantly.

Export customers' willingness to continue to pay these higher prices for Irish calves is a positive indication of calf performance on these arrival farms overseas.

Otherwise, these buyers would not be returning customers.

However, the recent news that Brittany Ferries plans to end its livestock transport services from Ireland to mainland Europe from September means that there is now only one ferry service bringing Irish calf trucks over to mainland Europe.

While most industry stakeholders in the Irish calf trade will be hoping the export market continues and options remain available for transporting the calves to mainland Europe, issues can arise that impact sailings, such as boats entering dry docks or ferries unable to sail for periods due to choppy seas.

Assuming no calves were exported from Ireland in a given year, and all the calves that were normally exported had to be sold from the origin farm but reared in Ireland, how many more calves would have to be reared on each calf-rearing farm?

In the first half of 2026, 20,690 farmers bought or moved-in calves aged six weeks-of-age or under for rearing.

Taking a three-year average figure for calf exports in the first 32 weeks of the past three years gives you a figure of just over 210,000 calves/year.

This means that if every farmer that took in calves for rearing in the first six months of this year, took in approximately 10 additional calves for rearing, it would see the vast majority of the calves that are currently being exported being reared in Ireland.

Dairy calf-to-beef demonstration farms and dairy-beef programmes in Ireland often highlight that calf price needs to come back in order to improve margins for dairy calf-to-beef farmers in Ireland.

However, farm lobby groups and politicians will often argue the point that a good live calf and cattle trade is needed to maintain a good dead cattle trade.