Cork continues to strengthen its standing as by far the dominant county in terms of dairy farming.

Birth registrations to dairy dams increased by 9,262 head to reach 386,872 calves registered.

The county now accounts for 25% of the 1,556,520 calves born in 2021. Births there have increased by almost 100,000 head over the last decade.

The next-closest county was Tipperary, where birth registrations of 179,626 head increased by 5,731 calves.

Three other counties exceeded birth registrations of 100,000 head - Limerick recorded registrations of 120,355 head, up 2,527 on 2020, while huge growth in dairy numbers in Kilkenny over the last decade has lifted it above Kerry as the county with the fourth-highest dairy births.

As demonstrated in Figure 1, the figure of 102,419 births in Kilkenny was 4,661 up on 2020 levels, while birth registrations have increased by over 40% head over the last decade.

Meanwhile, Kerry witnessed birth registrations increase by 1,800 to 102,419. The five top counties combined account for some 57% of all dairy birth registrations.

Leitrim had the lowest dairy births at 2,158 head, while Dublin was the only county where dairy births reduced, albeit by a figure of just 22 head (2,184).

Galway top on suckler births

Galway remains the dominant county on the suckler birth registration front, as detailed in Figure 2. Birth registrations reduced by 475 head to 91,314.

Births are over 24,000 head higher than Mayo (67,179) and Clare (67,816), with the latter recording the highest year-on-year increase in birth registrations of 810 head.

Birth registrations to suckler dams continue to come under pressure in dairy strongholds.

Births were down 1,003 head in Cork (64,058) and 1,753 head in Tipperary (46,466).

Four other counties also recorded reductions in excess of 1,000 births, including Wexford (-1,488 to 26,296), Laois (-1,351 to 27,425), Meath (-1,236 to 27,657) and Offaly (-1,138 to 25,725).

Analysing figures over the last decade shows births fell by the highest figure of 16,252 in Tipperary, 12,909 in Cork, 9,514 in Galway, 9,280 in Kilkenny and 8,616 in Waterford.