Similarly to Irish calf registrations, the Northern Irish registration data has shown an increase of 6.4% in beef calves registered in 2020 in comparison to 2019.
The number has increased by 8,100, from 125,998 at the same stage of last year to 134,098.
Beef calves
The Livestock and Meat Commission for Northern Ireland (LMC) reported that the increase in the number of beef calves registered came primarily from suckler cows.
However, during 2020 there has also been a slight increase in the number of beef calves from dairy cows.
Aberdeen Angus was the most popular breed, as it accounted for 26.2% of all beef sire calf registrations to date. This has increased for 2019 when they accounted for 25.7%.
Charolais calves accounted for 21% while Limousin accounted for 24% of beef calves registered, making up a similar proportion to previous years.
Hereford and Simmentals made up a further 8.5% and 6.5% respectively, showing a drop of about 0.5% each from earlier years.
