A higher proportion of suckler farmer respondents to a recent Irish Farmers Journal survey stated that they increased suckler cow numbers, than reported they are carrying fewer cows now than they did last year.
The survey results landed just as Irish Cattle Breeding Federation data comparing 31 July 2026 to the same date one year previous heralded an almost 19,000-head lift in suckler cow numbers.
This increase followed a decade-long decline that saw near on 300,000 suckler cows lost from the national herd.
Some 57% of suckler farmers surveyed reported that they kept numbers steady over the past year, 28% said they increased their suckler herd size and just 15% stated their suckler numbers had fallen.
The results indicate that the farm sector-wide cost spike witnessed since early this year has not dampened suckler sector sentiment and that the cattle price slippage seen after a record 2025 year for the trade has not taken the shine off historically high prices.
The survey also asked beef farmers whether they intended on killing the same number of cattle in 2026 as they had done last year.
A little under three-fifths reported that their numbers would go unchanged, 28% said they intended on finishing more cattle than they did last year and 15% responded that they were going to take fewer cattle through to slaughter.
Of those who said that they would take on fewer finishing cattle, almost two-thirds cited falling beef prices as their reason for doing so, 18% voiced labour shortages as the factor for their decision and a further 6% stated that farm succession was behind their decision.
SHARING OPTIONS