As the mid-point of the year approaches, the number of calf births that have been registered with the Irish Cattle Breeders Federation (ICBF) is nearing the two million mark.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The latest live figures, for the week ending June 21, show that 1,977,110 calves, including both beef and dairy calves, have been registered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This is back on the total number of calf births registered at the same point last year, which was 2,009,544.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This represents a decrease of 32,434 on the 2023 figure to this point of the year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The decrease in births for this year so far is down to the decrease in beef births.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Total beef births for 2024 as of last Friday stood at 509,063, down from the figure of 543,041 as of the same time of 2023.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This is decrease of 33,978.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Looking at dairy births, the 2024 figure is higher than last year, though there is much less of a variation in terms of the numbers registered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So far this year there have been 1,468,047 dairy births, an increase on the 1,466,503 figure at the same point of 2023.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This gives an increase of 1,544 this year on last year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Taking last week in isolation, there were a total of 25,159 births across both dairy and beef, a decrease on the figure for the same week of 2023, which was 28,134. This is a decrease for last week of 2,975.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Total registered beef births last week stood at 16,185, back from 17,760 on the same week last year. This is a decrease of 1,575.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Dairy births were also down last week compared to the same week in 2023.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There were 8,974 dairy calf births registered last week, compared to 10,374 is the same week of last year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This is difference of 1,400 births.<\/p>\n\n\n\n