Strong Recovery in Beef-Sired Calf Births Last Year
NORTHERN IRELAND, UK - According to the latest calf birth data provided by DARD, there was a sharp increase in beef-sired calf births in 2011.
Given the increased number of beef cows (+ four per cent)
recorded in the June census, greater numbers of
calf birth registrations were to be expected.
Nevertheless, the increase is impressive and
represents a reversal in the trend of reducing calf
births which was a serious concern for the sector
throughout the second half of the last decade.
Last year 327,400 beef-dired calf births were
registered on Northern Ireland farms. This was
up five per cent from 312,600 head in 2010 and 310,400
head in 2009. 2009 was in fact the nadir for beef
calf production in NI as illustrated in Figure 1
below.
Beef-sired calf birth registrations had been
falling steadily since the reform of the CAP in
2005 which marked the end of production linked
subsidies. Producers responded accordingly,
cutting back on primary beef production. The lack
of profitability in suckler beef was illustrated in the
Red Meat Task Force in 2007 and concerns were
raised about the future of the sector.
The recent increases in beef-sired calf births may
reflect a return of confidence to the sector.
Farmgate prices have increased sharply in recent
years and while input costs are also higher, this
increase in production could be regarded as
producers’ response to this price signal. Concerns
about suckler beef profitability remain however,
so it remains to be seen whether this increased
level of production will be sustained over the
longer term.
While beef-sired calf births have been on the rise,
the number of male calves registered in the dairy
herd have also increased. The 10 per cent
increase in registrations of male dairy calves is
encouraging given that the number of dairy cows
on the ground only increased slightly last year.
With many of these cattle finished intensively as
young bulls, feed costs often have an impact on
the value of this type of stock and in the past
producers may not have been pre-disposed to
retaining these cattle. Despite the fact that feed
costs were rising rapidly in the first half of 2011,
and remain high, this increase in calf registration
numbers may reflect increased confidence in the
dairy-beef sector.
Figure 2 illustrates how the peak month for calf
birth registrations in 2011 was May, as it had
been in previous years. However, in 2011, the
proportion of annual calf births registered in May
was higher than previous years. These increases
in calf-births create the likelihood of increased
availability of cattle for slaughter as we move
further into the decade. However, such an
increase will have little bearing in the availability
of finished cattle this year given that cattle born
last year will not be finished for two years on
average. Cattle supplies in 2012 are expected to
remain tight.
TheCattleSite News Desk