Beef heifer exports surpassing dairy bull export numbers to date
The number of beef heifer exports in the first half of this year has surpassed the number of dairy bull exports.
Latest figures from the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) show 82,663 beef-sired heifers were exported from Ireland in the first half of this year.
This figure is over 7,600 head above the 74,990 dairy-sired bull calves exported in the first half of this year.
The table below details 2025 live exports by month, gender, and sire type:
| Month | Male beef | Female beef | Total beef | Male dairy | Female dairy | Total dairy | Overall total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| JAN | 4,231 | 3,213 | 7,444 | 2,733 | 2,643 | 5,376 | 12,820 |
| FEB | 10,656 | 7,581 | 18,237 | 12,249 | 715 | 12,964 | 31,201 |
| MAR | 26,189 | 18,220 | 44,409 | 39,316 | 1,424 | 40,740 | 85,149 |
| APR | 34,684 | 23,990 | 58,674 | 13,113 | 1,559 | 14,672 | 73,346 |
| MAY | 28,321 | 20,673 | 48,994 | 5,260 | 1,537 | 6,797 | 55,791 |
| JUN | 12,778 | 8,986 | 21,764 | 2,319 | 867 | 3,186 | 24,950 |
| Total: | 116,859 | 82,663 | 199,522 | 74,990 | 8,745 | 83,735 | 283,257 |
Beef-sired heifer exports have been increasing in the past number of years.
For the full year of 2015, less than 35,500 beef-sired heifers were exported.
Factors attributed to this rise in exports include increased use of sexed semen on the dairy herd and more beef-sired calves born off the dairy herd.
Over 8,700 dairy heifers have been exported to date this year down from the 10,500 dairy heifers exported in the same time last year.
The highest volumes of cattle exports to date this year were beef-sired male calves totalling 116,859 head in the first half of the year.
The table below details Irish cattle exports by type for the first 30 weeks of 2023, 2024, and 2025:
| 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 2023/25 | 2024/25 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Calves: | 202,269 | 194,301 | 220,410 | +9% | +13% |
| Weanlings: | 19,417 | 23,496 | 29,331 | +51% | +25% |
| Stores: | 16,157 | 21,644 | 20,963 | +30% | -3% |
| Adult Cattle: | 20995 | 26,014 | 27,246 | +30% | +5% |
| Total: | 258838 | 265,455 | 297,950 | +15% | +12% |
Calf exports are up 13% to over 220,000 head, with weanling exports up 25% to over 29,000 head.
Store cattle exports are down 3% and adult cattle exports are up 5%.
For the purpose of the table above, calves are classified as all cattle under six-weeks-of-age, weanlings are all cattle from six-weeks-of-age to six-months-of-age, store cattle are all cattle from six-months-of-age to 24-months-of-age, and adult cattle are all cattle from 24-months-of-age upwards.
