According to the latest ICBF data, about a third of dairy calves in the country have been registered this year. By last Friday, more than 536,000 animals were registered with the ICBF, of which nearly 455,000 were born from dairy cows.
To date, the total number of newborn dairy calves has grown by approximately 45,000 in 2019, and George Ramsbottom of Theagasca explains this with an increase in the number of cows and an earlier breeding season last year.
According to CSO, by the end of December, the national dairy herd had grown by nearly 60,000 cows last year. The total number of calves born this year is also higher. It has increased from 76,000 to 81,000. Despite the increase in the number of dairy calves this year, trade in shop windows remains surprisingly stable.
The leader in cattle stock is India. She leads the world ranking - over 50 million goals. In the European Union, the population is 23.5 million, and this figure is in second place.
Marketing managers attribute a more sustainable market to dairy farmers who keep calves longer than they sell them, and therefore bring stronger animals to the market. Meanwhile, preliminary CSO data show that the total number of cattle in 2019 decreased by 0.5%, or by 34,000 heads, to 6.56 million. This was despite an increase in the number of dairy cows.
The number of beef cows has decreased by 45,000 since 2017, falling from 1.02 million to 957,000 at the end of December. In contrast to the reduction in livestock, the number of sheep and pigs increased last year. The total number of sheep increased by about 110,000, or 3%, to 3.9 million. The total number of breeding sheep increased by 20,000 to 2.72 million.
The number of pigs also increased, from 2.6% to 1.6 million. The herd of breeding sows increased by 1.4%. Profits in the pig sector have grown over the past six months due to the ongoing outbreak of African swine flu in China.
You will be interested to read:
- Experts from the beef cattle institute believe that difficult births and low-energy calves can disrupt the connection between the mother and the cub, so it is important to provide qualified assistance to the cow during childbirth to maximize its condition.
- A recent article by Katharina Zimmer in The Scientist focused on the development of a vaccine for the prevention of African swine fever, which provides an analysis of specific types of swine fever that are common in East Africa.
- Following the abolition of quotas, Ireland began a period of expansion in the production of dairy products. Since then, milk production has increased by 50%, which is largely due to an increase in the number of dairy cows in the country.
