The decline in the suckler herd is continuing, with a further drop of 42,056 suckler cows recorded in 2019.

It was the fourth consecutive year that suckler cow numbers have dropped. Some 83,936 suckler cows have been culled since the abolition of milk quotas in 2015.

There are fears within the industry that when the current BDGP programme finishes later this year that the current rate of decline could accelerate further.

We could see suckler cow numbers drop back to 1980 levels

The number of suckler cows in Ireland currently stands at 934,273, according to new data released by ICBF.

Speaking at the Teagasc beef conference before Christmas, Teagasc chief economist Kevin Hanrahan said: “We could see suckler cow numbers drop back to 1980 levels of 700,000-800,000 cows.”

Hanrahan also stated that a suckler cow support payment was unlikely in the near future.

The trend is mirrored in Northern Ireland, where DAERA’s June census showed the northern suckler herd at its lowest since June 1988, standing at 247,000 cows.

The biggest drop in suckler cow numbers has been seen in the east and southeast where the growth in the dairy herd has been the highest.

Galway remained the number one county for suckler cows in 2019, with a suckler cow population of 97,732.

Biggest drop

Tipperary recorded the biggest drop in suckler numbers, with 3,707 fewer cows in the county in 2019 compared with 2018, a 6.86% drop.

Beef calf registrations are down 27,223 compared with 2018 numbers while in contrast calf registrations in the dairy herd is up 23,459. This means that the overall number of calves registered in Ireland for 2019 stood at 2,318,475.

Meanwhile, economist Jim Power’s in-depth review of the beef sector is expected to be published next week. Power was tasked by the IFA with investigating who is profiting in the beef industry and how.

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Suckler herd decline continues: County by County analysis