The 2021 HerdPlus suckler beef calving reports have been released by the Irish Cattle Breeding Federation (ICBF).
The 2021 data covers the period from July 1, 2020 to June 30, 2021, as the ICBF calving reports run from mid year.
According to the ICBF figures, the average calving interval of the national suckler herd has improved by one day, from 396 days in 2020, to 395 days in 2021.
Similar trends are apparent one year on for other important fertility parameters, such as the spring six-week calving rate, autumn six-week calving rate and percentage of recycled cows.
The national statistics are based on herds with 10 calvings or more.
The percentage of heifers calved 22-26 months-of-age has remained at 23% this year, leaving plenty of room for improvement with this Key Performance Indicator (KPI).
The table below gives a simple outline of target weights at different ages, for calving beef heifers at 24 months.
An important aspect of calving beef heifers at 24 months is making sure that they meet target weights.
Weighing all cattle is generally recommended as good practice and this is particularly true for replacement heifers.
Once heifers have been accurately weighed, farmers can assess performance levels and see where their heifers stand in relation to targets.
The top 15% of suckler herds in Ireland had a calving interval of 364 days, which equates to a calving interval that is all of 4.4 weeks greater than the figure for the national herd average of 395 days.
This figure is considerably behind that of the top 15%, with the calving interval figure for the national herd showing little to no improvement over the past decade.
According to the ICBF, it has never been so important for farmers to focus on using breeding on bulls with a high Eurostar Replacement index, and that have a high fertility sub-index.
The average from over the past five years indicates that figures are moving in the right direction, however year on year there hasn’t been much change to many KPIs.