The total number of Irish calves registered in 2026 has surpassed the the 1 million mark, with 86% of calves registered to dairy farms.

As spring calving on dairy farms begins to slow down, the Irish Cattle Breeding Federation (ICBF) have announced that 1,116,919 calves have been registered in total as of Friday, March 20.

Calf registrations are holding steady above last year's figures, with registrations currently running 37,936 ahead of the same time in 2025.

There was a total 117,234 calves registered in the last week alone, according to ICBF, which is 1,439 more than what was registered in the same week last year.

Dairy calf registrations

During the week, 93,915 of those calves were registered to dairy dams, with a further 23,319 were registered to beef dams.

That means only one in seven calf births are currently being registered to beef dams.

However, dairy births are beginning to slow as the season progresses, with 30,414 fewer dairy calves registered this week than last week.

The peak week for dairy calf registrations was the week ending February 20, with a total 167,152 calves registered to dairy dams in that week alone, which followed through into the following week (ending February 27) as 166,101 calves were registered to dairy dams.

In total, dairy births in 2026 are up by 22,865 in comparison to figures from last year.

It is clear farmers are starting the calving season more vigorously, with more dairy calves registered on a weekly basis throughout February, before falling behind in March when comparing the data to 2025 figures.

Beef calves

The number of calves registered to beef dams has reached 152,778 for the year-to-date, which is 12,071 more calves than the same time last year.

There was 23,319 calves registered to beef dams in the last week alone, up from 21,319 during the same week in 2025.

Suckler-bred calf registrations had been steadily declining over the last decade, with farmers retiring or moving industries.

However, with beef prices still in a strong position compared to the last decade, the number of beef calves born has now not only flattened, but is on the incline.