The Department of Agriculture in the Netherlands has moved to postpone its infectious bovine rhinotracheitis (IBR) rules until 1 July 2026, paving the way for Irish calf exports to continue next year.

It had been planned that from 1 January 2026, by law, Dutch farmers could only source animals from countries that have a national IBR eradication programme.

Ireland does not currently have an IBR programme in place, thus Irish calves would be excluded from the market this time next year.

The Dutch Minister for Agriculture Femke Wiersma has said that there are “many steps to be taken in a legislative process”.

“This must be done carefully,” she said. “After consultation with sectors, I have determined that it is not possible to complete all the steps to have the [law] enter into force on 1 January 2026,” she said.

She also said that she wants to take “sufficient time” between publication and entry into force to communicate to Dutch farmers about the new law, so that farmers can prepare.

“The entry into force will therefore be postponed by six months to 1 July 2026.”

As of May 2025, almost 75,000 calves had been exported to the Netherlands for further finishing on veal farms. Exports are up around 7% year on year. The Netherlands is Ireland’s largest market for calves, followed by Spain, Poland, Italy and Northern Ireland.

Calf exports were running 13% of 2024 levels in May, with almost 188,000 exported.