With an increasing proportion of finished cattle coming from the dairy herd, pressure is being heaped on carcase weights and carcase conformation.
The ICBF’s latest slaughter data for 2024 shows a further deterioration in carcase conformation and a worrying rise in slaughter age.
This is despite all the market signals being to finish at a young age, and the concerning impact that this drop in slaughter age will have on meeting our reduction in emissions targets by 2030.
Trends
Cow numbers across both suckler and dairy herds saw a big drop in 2024/2025.
Dairy cow numbers were back 3%, or 50,808 cows, while suckler cow numbers saw a 6% drop, or 47,521 cows.
Nitrates pressure, stocking rate limits, low levels of profitability, policy changes and lack of successors have all been drivers of reduced cow numbers on Irish farms over the last 12 months.
On 1 April 2025, there were 1,621,667 dairy cows on Irish farms and 742,970 suckler cows. The total number of calves born in the year to date continues to decline.
Calf births
Calf births peaked at 1,623,991 in 2023 and have been declining since. Calf births for the first four months of 2024 were down 2.1% on the 2023 figure and the 2025 births are down 3% on the 2024 figure.
There continues to be a sharp decline in the number of dairy x dairy births as the increased rollout of sexed semen helps to reduce the number of dairy x dairy bull calves being born on Irish dairy farms. There were just 210,935 dairy male calf registrations so far in 2025, down from 318,496 head in 2023.
On the other hand, dairy x beef births continue to increase. In 2023 dairy-beef births rose by a massive 23% followed by an 11% increase in 2024.
So far this year, there have been 758,459 dairy-beef calves born on dairy farms, up almost 70,000 on the 2024 figure, or a 10% increase. The number of suckler registrations continues to decline, albeit at a slower rate than we saw last year.
Registrations
From 1 January to 21 April 2025 there were 278,891 suckler calves registered, back 5% on the 2024 figure or just over 16,000 fewer suckler calves.
Suckler calf registrations were back just over 35,000, or 11%, at the same point in 2024.
With these cows going in-calf during the summer of 2024 and before the current rise in cattle prices, there is a thought that suckler calf registrations could stabilise more moving into 2026.
Interestingly, there has been a sharp decline in the number of zero- to one-year-old dairy replacements on Irish dairy farms, falling 12.5% in 2025.
Slaughter stats
Taking a look at the slaughter statistics for 2024 from the suckler herd, the number of bulls currently being slaughtered continues to decline and has halved to just over 59,000 head, compared with the bull kill in 2012 which stood at 121,729 head.
This has had massive implications for overall slaughter age where even if small increments of days’ progress are made, the industry has turned away from slaughtering 120,000 cattle as young bulls and switched half of these to bullocks that come with a six- to 12-month increase in finishing time.
The average carcase weight of heifers slaughtered from the suckler herd fell by 0.8kg in 2024 and slaughter age increased by 17 days.
On the bullock side, carcase weight decreased by 2.8kg while slaughter age went up by 16 days.
Grades remained similar at R=. Young bull carcase weight increased by 0.4kg while slaughter age increased by 16.5 days. Grade remained similar at R+.
Since 2010, heifer slaughter age has increased by 14 days, bullocks have reduced by 75 days while young bulls have reduced by 19 days. Carcase weight has increased for heifers by 32kg, bullocks are up 8.5kg ,while young bulls are up 19.3kg during the same period.
In the dairy-beef category heifer carcases dropped by 3.8kg in 2024 to an average carcase weight of 275kg and dairy-beef bullocks dropped by 4kg to 323kg.
The average age of slaughter for dairy-beef heifers went up by five days in 2024 while the average age of dairy-beef bullocks went up by two days.
Grading
Grading continues to slip but at a lower pace. A reduction in beef merit of the dairy cow continues to apply pressure to dairy-beef carcase weights and conformation despite all the positive work taking place on the dairy beef index (DBI) and commercial beef value (CBV) index.
The beef sub index of dairy cows has moved from +€10 to -€11 over the last 20 years and carcase weights of progeny have followed that decline.
Progress is slow in moving dairy farmers to using better bulls to breed dairy beef.
The average beef sub index of AI beef sires of 595,570 dairy beef calves in 2025 was €110, up just €7 in six years. This has meant the average CBV of dairy beef calves moved up by €4 in 2025 to €94 after six years of making no progress.
The Aberdeen Angus breed appears to be making the most progress in relation to improving the CBV of calves from the dairy herd, with relatively low levels of progress being made in other breeds.
In short
Further deterioration in carcase conformation.Worrying rise in slaughter age in 2024. Increased sexed semen means fewer dairy-dairy bulls are being born.
With an increasing proportion of finished cattle coming from the dairy herd, pressure is being heaped on carcase weights and carcase conformation.
The ICBF’s latest slaughter data for 2024 shows a further deterioration in carcase conformation and a worrying rise in slaughter age.
This is despite all the market signals being to finish at a young age, and the concerning impact that this drop in slaughter age will have on meeting our reduction in emissions targets by 2030.
Trends
Cow numbers across both suckler and dairy herds saw a big drop in 2024/2025.
Dairy cow numbers were back 3%, or 50,808 cows, while suckler cow numbers saw a 6% drop, or 47,521 cows.
Nitrates pressure, stocking rate limits, low levels of profitability, policy changes and lack of successors have all been drivers of reduced cow numbers on Irish farms over the last 12 months.
On 1 April 2025, there were 1,621,667 dairy cows on Irish farms and 742,970 suckler cows. The total number of calves born in the year to date continues to decline.
Calf births
Calf births peaked at 1,623,991 in 2023 and have been declining since. Calf births for the first four months of 2024 were down 2.1% on the 2023 figure and the 2025 births are down 3% on the 2024 figure.
There continues to be a sharp decline in the number of dairy x dairy births as the increased rollout of sexed semen helps to reduce the number of dairy x dairy bull calves being born on Irish dairy farms. There were just 210,935 dairy male calf registrations so far in 2025, down from 318,496 head in 2023.
On the other hand, dairy x beef births continue to increase. In 2023 dairy-beef births rose by a massive 23% followed by an 11% increase in 2024.
So far this year, there have been 758,459 dairy-beef calves born on dairy farms, up almost 70,000 on the 2024 figure, or a 10% increase. The number of suckler registrations continues to decline, albeit at a slower rate than we saw last year.
Registrations
From 1 January to 21 April 2025 there were 278,891 suckler calves registered, back 5% on the 2024 figure or just over 16,000 fewer suckler calves.
Suckler calf registrations were back just over 35,000, or 11%, at the same point in 2024.
With these cows going in-calf during the summer of 2024 and before the current rise in cattle prices, there is a thought that suckler calf registrations could stabilise more moving into 2026.
Interestingly, there has been a sharp decline in the number of zero- to one-year-old dairy replacements on Irish dairy farms, falling 12.5% in 2025.
Slaughter stats
Taking a look at the slaughter statistics for 2024 from the suckler herd, the number of bulls currently being slaughtered continues to decline and has halved to just over 59,000 head, compared with the bull kill in 2012 which stood at 121,729 head.
This has had massive implications for overall slaughter age where even if small increments of days’ progress are made, the industry has turned away from slaughtering 120,000 cattle as young bulls and switched half of these to bullocks that come with a six- to 12-month increase in finishing time.
The average carcase weight of heifers slaughtered from the suckler herd fell by 0.8kg in 2024 and slaughter age increased by 17 days.
On the bullock side, carcase weight decreased by 2.8kg while slaughter age went up by 16 days.
Grades remained similar at R=. Young bull carcase weight increased by 0.4kg while slaughter age increased by 16.5 days. Grade remained similar at R+.
Since 2010, heifer slaughter age has increased by 14 days, bullocks have reduced by 75 days while young bulls have reduced by 19 days. Carcase weight has increased for heifers by 32kg, bullocks are up 8.5kg ,while young bulls are up 19.3kg during the same period.
In the dairy-beef category heifer carcases dropped by 3.8kg in 2024 to an average carcase weight of 275kg and dairy-beef bullocks dropped by 4kg to 323kg.
The average age of slaughter for dairy-beef heifers went up by five days in 2024 while the average age of dairy-beef bullocks went up by two days.
Grading
Grading continues to slip but at a lower pace. A reduction in beef merit of the dairy cow continues to apply pressure to dairy-beef carcase weights and conformation despite all the positive work taking place on the dairy beef index (DBI) and commercial beef value (CBV) index.
The beef sub index of dairy cows has moved from +€10 to -€11 over the last 20 years and carcase weights of progeny have followed that decline.
Progress is slow in moving dairy farmers to using better bulls to breed dairy beef.
The average beef sub index of AI beef sires of 595,570 dairy beef calves in 2025 was €110, up just €7 in six years. This has meant the average CBV of dairy beef calves moved up by €4 in 2025 to €94 after six years of making no progress.
The Aberdeen Angus breed appears to be making the most progress in relation to improving the CBV of calves from the dairy herd, with relatively low levels of progress being made in other breeds.
In short
Further deterioration in carcase conformation.Worrying rise in slaughter age in 2024. Increased sexed semen means fewer dairy-dairy bulls are being born. 
SHARING OPTIONS