7% less grain but only 2.2% fall in sucklers

SUCKLER cow numbers have fallen by only 2.2%, according to the Central Statistics Office June livestock survey. Little change was seen in the total Irish cattle herd, but the sheep flock fell 5% (mainly due to a 6.9% reduction in ewes aged two years and over).

The CSO’s suckler numbers have eased fears of herd shrinkage raised by the number of cows on the Irish Cattle Breeding Federation database falling from 1,096,262 to 1,067,338 in the year to July 1.

Dairy cows increased by more than 1%, to 1.13m head. Breeding heifers for the dairy herd were up 1% to 227,000 head, but replacement heifers for the suckler herd dropped by 6%, to 139,000 head.