Calf birth registrations in 2017 to date are running 26,000hd higher than 2016, new figures from the ICBF show.

To date this year, 1,957,580 calves have been registered, compared to 1,931,452, an increase of just over 26,000 calves.

Dairy calf birth registrations are running 42,000 head higher than last year, while beef calf registrations are down almost 16,000.

AI up 8%

Meanwhile, AI use is almost 8% higher this year than in 2016.

Some 740,700 AI services have been recorded by AI technicians on handheld devices up to 6 July, 2017.

This is almost 54,000 services more than the figure for the same period in 2016, when AI technicians recorded 686,716 services.

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