Less than one in every five calves that have been registered to date this year have been registered to suckler-bred cows, latest figures from the Irish Cattle Breeding Federation (ICBF) show.
According to ICBF figures, as of Friday, April 19, a total of 1,556,829 calves have been registered in total so far this year.
1,271,976 of these calves were registered to dairy cows, while the remaining 284,853 calves were registered to suckler-bred cows.
The figures indicate that 18% of the calves born to date this year are suckler-bred calves while 82% of the calves born this spring were bred from dairy cows.
The total number of calves registered to date this year is back approximately 8,500 head on the same time period of last year.
Calf registrations from the dairy herd have increased, while calf registrations from the suckler herd have decreased.
Calf registrations to dairy cows have increased by 13,500 head to date this year, while calf registrations from the suckler herd have fallen by 22,000 head.
While these figures will change as the year progresses, they highlight the general overall trend of the changing composition of the Irish cattle herd.
Suckler cow numbers are continuing to decline across the country and the decline has yet to show any indications of ‘bottoming out’.
Dairy cow numbers are continuing to increase, albeit at a slower pace than had been seen over the past decade since milk quotas were abolished in 2015.
There are signs of the growth in dairy cow numbers beginning to ‘level off’, but it remains to be seen where the suckler to dairy cow ratio will level off.
The changing composition of the overall national cattle herd is presenting numerous challenges as dairy farming grows further in dominating the Irish farming landscape.
With dairy farming being generally perceived as the most profitable farming enterprise in Ireland, other farming sectors are becoming less dominant.
The falling tillage area as more land is used for dairy farming has lead to a tightening supply of home-produced grain, and with this comes a reduced straw availability, which is being felt across the country this spring, as bedding supplies are scarce due to the prolonged winter housing season, but also the reduced tillage area.
Reduced suckler-bred cattle supplies has changed the grade composition of the national beef kill and while work is being done to improve the genetic beef merit of beef calves from the dairy herd, there is further scope for improvement.
The seasonal calving pattern in Ireland sees huge volumes of calves arrive in the spring with less availability for the remainder of the year.
Ensuring continued demand from calf rearers for the large volumes of calves hitting the ground every spring is another challenge the sector faces.
There has been high attrition rates in the number of farmers rearing calves for beef production and ensuring a profit margin can be made from these calves will be essential to ensuring a future home market for dairy-bred calves.