Calf numbers have steadied this week, with an improvement being seen in prices across the board.

There was 3,264 10- to 20-day-old calves included in this week’s Irish Cattle Breeding Federation (ICBF) calf price analysis table, compared with 3,273 calves last week.

The young Friesian bull calf saw an improvement in price, with exporters still very active, looking for suitable stock to meet export demand.

More farmer activity for older calves has also been reported by mart managers this week.

Older calves

Aberdeen Angus bulls in the 21- to 42-day-old bracket improved in price by €7/head this week, up to €179/head.

Older Aberdeen Angus heifers also saw an improvement, coming in at €128/head this week, up €6/head on last week’s trading.

Hereford bulls were also up €6/head, while Hereford heifers were up €5/head.

While numbers are smaller, continental calves continue to meet a good trade this week, with older Belgian Blue bull calves coming in at €247/head this week, while older heifers sold for an average price of €231/head.

Next week is thought to be the last week that calf slaughterings will take place, with a general winding down in numbers in the last two weeks.

There were 801 calves slaughtered last week, which brings the total number of calves slaughtered in 2023 to 29,756 head, an increase of 2,788 calves on the same period in 2022 or up 10%.

New legislation is expected to be enforced by the end of the year, putting severe restrictions on the slaughtering route for dairy farmers.

This could have big implications on farms where these lower-quality calves are born and the route to market for them.

The number of buyers for these lower-quality lighter calves is getting lower and lower, with both exporters and farmer buyers shying away from them this year.

Huge changes in breeding will be required on dairy farms to avoid issues surrounding these calves in 2024.