Aberdeen Angus remains the most popular beef sire in Northern Ireland.
That is according to data from the APHIS, which confirms that 29% of calves sired by beef breeds between January-April 2022 were Angus-bred. This is running slightly above last year’s levels of 28.4%.
Meanwhile, Limousin remains the second most popular beef sire, accounting for 22.5% of births from January-April 2022, which is down from 23% the previous year.
Furthermore, Charolais is the next most popular breed at 18.9%, compared to 19.7% of beef-sired calf registrations in 2021.
Meanwhile, Belgian Blue beef-sired calf registrations stood at 8.0%, which is up 6.7% or 690 head from 2021 levels, when the breed accounted for 7.4% of calf registrations.
The proportion of Hereford beef-sired calves registered has fallen from 8% in 2021 to 7.6% in 2022, down some 750 head.
Lastly, Simmental sired-calf registrations decreased marginally by 176 head, or 2.2% from the same period last year.
In brief, the six most popular beef breeds during January to April 2012 and 2022 were (alphabetical order):
- Angus;
- Belgian Blue;
- Charolais;
- Hereford;
- Limousin;
- Simmental.
Calf registrations in Northern Ireland
Meanwhile, according to the LMC (Livestock and Meat Commission), from January to April 2022, farmers registered a total of 191,823 calves on Northern Irish farms.
This is a decline of 4,078 head or 2.1% from 2021 levels when 195,901 calves were registered during the same period.
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