The proportion of prime beef cattle originating from the dairy herd continued its upward trend in 2025, a new Teagasc report has found.
Dairy-bred animals accounted for 62% of the prime cattle kill in 2025, up from 60% in 2024, according to Teagasc figures.
Suckler calf registrations continued their downward trend, declining by almost 29,000 head in 2025 when compared with 2024.
Teagasc’s ‘Achievements 2025’ report focused on the technical performance of each sector.
Launching the report on Tuesday, Teagasc director Professor Frank O’Mara noted how good 2025 was for grass growth.
Grass production increased by 12% to an average of 13.2 tonnes of dry matter per hectare in 2025, as measured by the 7,000 farmers in PastureBase Ireland. The corresponding figure for 2024 was 11.8t DM/ha.
Dairy
Milk production increased by 5% in 2025, mainly driven by excellent grass growth and grazing conditions, as well as genetic improvement, despite dairy cow numbers falling by 1.5%.
Ireland’s economic breeding index (EBI) is increasing by €5 annually, according to Professor O’Mara.
Incomes increased substantially in 2025 on both suckler and dairy beef farms, marking a significant improvement on previous years.
The average age at slaughter remained unchanged at 26.5 months.
Family farm income on sheep farms is estimated to have increased significantly in 2025 to €36,500, a boost that has mainly been driven by increased prices for lamb.
There was favourable spring weather and good mid-season grass growth along the western seaboard, where most sheep farming takes place.
However, ewe numbers fell by 2.8% (2024 data) and throughput of lambs through Irish meat processors decreased significantly by 17% in 2025.
Last year saw a recovery in Irish cereal production, driven by increased winter cereal area and notably stronger winter wheat yields.
Total cereal output is estimated at 2.23 million tonnes, above the five-year average of 2.10 million tonnes. Total tillage area remained stable in 2025.
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