AI usage in 2017 is running 7.6% ahead of 2016, the latest information from ICBF has revealed.

AI technicians reported 608,066 handheld services by last Friday, 2 June.

This was an increase of more than 43,200 services on the 564,812 services recorded in the same period of 2016.

Meanwhile, calf birth registrations with ICBF are also up on 2016.

By 2 June, there were 1,816,576 calves registered with ICBF, an increase of almost 25,000 on the 1,791,977 registered in the same period last year.

This has been driven mainly by the dairy herd, which has 40,848 more calves registered so far this year than it did last year.

Beef calf birth registrations are running behind 2016, with 16,249 fewer calf births registered by 2 June than the same period in 2016.