Fears of a collapse in the crucially important beef suckler cow herd have eased, with latest figures showing numbers stabilising at just under one million cows.

Latest figures from the Irish Cattle Breeding Federation (ICBF) show that 776,503 suckler cows have calved to date in 2014, just 1.5% less than the same period last year. The ICBF figures show that Irish farmers currently have a total of 992,574 suckler cows.

Earlier this year, there had been fears of a major contraction in the suckler herd, but later calving due to the knock-on effects of last year’s fodder crisis appears to have been the main factor affecting the data through the spring.

While overall cow numbers remain strong, the ICBF figures show a worrying decline in output from the national herd, with the calving interval slipping to 412 days. This means that the average suckler cow is only calving every 13.5 months and every 100 cows are only delivering 79 calves per year. The comparable figures for 2012 were 85 calves per 100 cows and a calving interval of 396 days.

Dairy growth

Meanwhile, with milk quota abolition just seven months away, ICBF figures show a 3.6% increase in the size of the national dairy cow herd. A total of 1.078m dairy cows have calved this year, which is a significant 5.8% above the level at the same time two years ago.

Interestingly, there has been a 6.4% decline in dairy cows bred to AI sires this year, as dairy farmers take a cautious view on expansion. There were also 4% fewer dairy-bred calves born this year. Both numbers will have implications for the pace of dairy output growth in 2016 and 2017.

The 2014 figures for both beef and dairy show a welcome decline in cow mortality, with on-farm deaths returning to a more normal level after the surge in 2013 due to the harsh weather and shortage of fodder.

There are now 1.199m dairy cows on the ICBF database, with just under 300,000 first-lactation animals in the herd.

Dairy cow exports in 2014 are 60% higher than last year, but at just 9,608 animals it represents less than 1% of the national dairy cow herd.