Over 200,000 cows had no calf registered last year
Figures from the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) have revealed that over 200,000 cows in Ireland had no calf registered to them in 2022.
The DAFM figures indicate that 207,644 cows remained in the national herd and had no calf registered to them in that calendar year.
This figure is up slightly from the 207,105 cows that had no calf registered to them in 2021.
The figures can further be broken down by sector and reveal that of the cows with no calf registered in 2022, 110,856 were from the dairy herd and 96,788 were from the suckler herd.
In 2021, 109,791 cows from the dairy herd had no calf registered to them and 93,314 cows from the suckler herd had no calves registered.
The table below show the number of cows in the national herd which at year end no calf had been registered to them in that calendar year:
| Type | Year | Total Cows | Cows with no calf |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dairy | 2022 | 1,500,607 | 110,856 |
| Beef | 2022 | 837,826 | 96,788 |
| Total 2022: | 2,338,433 | 207,644 | |
| Dairy | 2021 | 1,501,861 | 109,791 |
| Beef | 2021 | 864,968 | 97,314 |
| Total 2021: | 2,366,829 | 207,105 |
For the purpose of the figures used by DAFM, cows refer to all female bovines that are registered as the dam of at least one calf.
Latest calving statistics
Latest figures from the Irish Cattle Breeding Federation (ICBF) show that as of Friday, August 25, a total of 2,158,416 calves have been registered. This figure is 22,371 head below the number of calves that had been registered in the same time period last year.
While the number of calves registered from the dairy herd to date this year has increased, the number of calves registered from the suckler herd has decreased.
A total of 645,322 calves have been registered from the suckler herd to date this year, 45,473 head below the same time period last year.
1,513,184 calves have been registered from the dairy herd to date this year, 23,102 head above last year.
