Numbers of dairy heifers bred from AI small but rising

According to the Irish Cattle Breeding Federation (ICBF), only 101,100 dairy heifers were bred from AI in 2006.

But this number increased by an average of 13% per annum to 139,273 in 2009.

This figure represents only 16 AI-bred heifers per 100 cows. However, numbers are increasing each year, with a further increase of 15% in dairy births this spring.