While the national suckler herd may be reducing in numbers, the pedigree beef part of the national herd continues to grow. Pedigree beef registrations increased by nearly 1,000 calves in 2017. More traditional breeds, or beef breeds associated with crossing on dairy cattle, are the main contributors in the increase. The Hereford breeds saw an increase of nearly 500 pedigree calves on the year, up 11% to settle at 5,000 registrations in 2017.

The Angus breed remained number one on registrations with 9,706 pedigree registrations in 2017. This number is up by 395 calves in 2016. Looking over a five year period we see the Hereford and Angus breeds annual pedigree registrations have increased by a massive 47% and 50% respectively. Other breeds such as the Shorthorn and Aubrac breeds also witnessed big changes in calf population. However, these are working off a much smaller registration base.

In general these big changes are being mirrored across the national commercial herd also. Angus and Hereford bulls combined sired nearly 80,000 more calves in 2017. This figure is based on 2016 figures which also saw an increase of 40,000 on 2015 levels.

This is largely down to the abolition of the milk quota and the increasing national dairy herd. Breeds associated with this market have flourished as dairy farmers continue to look for easy calving and short gestation bulls – two traits well associated with the Angus and Hereford breeds. On the flip side other breeds such as Charolais and Belgian Blue, have witnessed noticeable drops in their national pedigree herd. The Charolais breeds annual registrations have dropped by over 1,800 calves compared with five years ago. While the Belgian Blue breeds registrations have been most affected with 70% less calves in 2017 compared to that of 2012.

These pedigree registrations are again mirrored across the national herd. Charolais calf numbers dropped by a massive 40,000.

While the BDGP played its part in this drop, the reducing national suckler herd is also a big contributor.

Belgian Blue-sired calf registrations dropped almost 20%, with over 12,000 fewer born in 2017 compared with 2015. The breed was already facing an uphill battle before 2015, with the strong export market for heavily muscled weanlings no longer as lucrative. The Limousin breed again holds the position of second highest pedigree registrations. While pedigree registrations only increased by 1% or 67 calves, the number of Limousin-sired calves in 2017 increased by nearly 10,000.

Overall the national pedigree beef herd now stands at 38,505 across all breeds. Societies witnessing continual growth in pedigree registrations over a prolonged period need to implement strategies to ensure breed standards remain high.

The correct use of the available export markets along with a continuous cull of the bottom tier of bulls and heifers is the only way to ensure this happens. By imposing strategies like this not only will breed standards increase, but will also lead to a more stable market in years to come.