Increase in Calf Registrations in Ireland for 2026

The Irish Cattle Breeding Federation (ICBF) has reported a rise in the number of both suckler and dairy-bred calves registered in Ireland for 2026. As of May 22, a total of 1,826,200 calves have been registered, an increase of 28,772 compared to the same period last year.

Dairy-bred calf registrations have reached 1,403,612 this year, which is 15,503 more than the previous year. This rise comes after several years of decline. Meanwhile, suckler calf registrations have also increased, with 422,588 suckler-bred calves registered, marking an increase of 13,269 from last year.

According to data from the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM), the first four months of this year saw 1.18 million calves registered to beef-breed bulls, compared to 561,771 registered to dairy-breed bulls. This trend is attributed to a stabilization in dairy cow numbers and increased use of sexed semen on dairy cows.

Specifically, of the calves born to beef-breed bulls, nearly 609,000 were female and over 567,000 were bull calves. For dairy-breed bulls, almost 342,000 of the calves were female and just over 220,000 were bull calves.