The latest birth registration data published by the Irish Cattle Breeding Federation (ICBF) for the week ending 17 April 2026 shows birth registrations running 21,397 head, or 1.4%, higher.

The total number of calves born is running at 1,517,119 head, with 82% of such births to dairy dams.

At 1,243,593 head, the number of dairy calves born to date in 2026 is running 12,983 head higher.

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The number of birth registrations recorded to beef dams is trending ahead of recent years, where birth registrations reduced annually by a figure ranging anywhere from 20,000 to upwards of 45,000 head higher.

The number of calves born to beef dams is running at 273,526 head is 8,414 or 3% higher than the corresponding period in 2025. Renewed confidence in suckler farming and some stability in dairying with the securing of the nitrates derogation for another three-year period is generating more confidence in pedigree breeding, with pedigree birth registrations of 67,684 head running 5,219 head higher.

AIM data

The latest Animal Identification and Movement (AIM) data published by the Department of Agriculture shows the number of dairy cows on farms on 1 March 2026 standing at 1,624,507 head. This equates to an increase of 41,170 or 2.6% compared with 1 March 2025.

Meanwhile, the number of suckler cows on farms on 1 March 2026 stood at 744,099 head, equating to a marginal increase of 219 compared with 12 months previous.

Cow numbers are approximately 7,500 head higher than 1 February 2026, showing the likelihood of more confidence in the sector.