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The number of suckler cows decreased by 23,700 or just over 2% according to the latest figures from the Central Statistics Office (CSO).
While the number may not seem drastic, it marks a steady decline in suckler cow numbers over the last number of years.
By the end of 2017, the number of breeding suckler cows in Ireland stood at 1,018,300, while the number of breeding dairy cows stood at 1,343,300.
Dairy cow numbers jumped last year by 48,100 which helped to drive the overall 0.9% increase in Irish cattle numbers to 6,673,600 at the end of 2017.
Calf trends
Trends in suckler and dairy numbers have also been reflected more recently in calf registration figures this year.
There has been an increase in dairy births, with 108,499 registrations to date, while beef registrations lagged almost 5,000 registrations short of meeting last year’s numbers in March.
Other cattle numbers
In 2017, the number of bulls used solely for breeding purposes also saw a sharp 34% decline compared to the previous year to just 12,800. In 2015 there were almost 29,000 bulls used solely for breeding in Ireland.
The number of cattle over the age of two increased to 420,500, a 5% increase. The majority of bulls in this category will be slaughtered in the coming months.
The number of cattle between 12 and 24 months increased slightly by 14,100, to 1,792,200, while there were a total of 2,086,500 calves in 2017.
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