There has been a slowdown in recent weeks in the number of calf birth registrations.

The latest Irish Cattle Breeding Federation (ICBF) birth registration data for the week ending 20 May 2022 recorded 45,037 registrations for that week, a reduction of 5,421 on the corresponding week in 2021.

The number of dairy births registered at 19,679 head was 1,516 head lower year-on-year, while suckler births of 25,358 was 3,935 head lower.

The total number of birth registrations at 1,868,648 is, for the first time in a number of years, running behind 2021 levels (2,233 head lower).

Dairy

Dairy births for the year-to-date of 1,384,549 are 20,214 head higher, but this is cancelled out by suckler births of 484,099 head running 22,447 head lower.

This is in line with the Department of Agriculture’s Animal Identification and Movement (AIM) data, which shows that there were 1,673,518 dairy cows on farms on 1 April 2022, an increase of 28,131 head on April 2021.

Sucklers

The number of suckler cows at 880,126 head was 25,617 head lower year-on-year.