The 2026 Beef Calving Statistics are in, but how is your county performing?
Mayo and Limerick may be the All-Ireland football and hurling champions respectively, but what about the All-Ireland beef calving champions? Which county has the best calving efficiency in the country? Based on the recently published 2026 beef calving report statistics, ICBF has carried out a county by county analysis (see table 1).
| County | Total Herds | Average Herd Size | Calving Interval | Calves/Cow /Year | % Heifers Calved 22-26 Months | Average Age 1st Calving (months) |
| Carlow | 440 | 21 | 398 | 0.85 | 26.1 | 31.6 |
| Cavan | 2,008 | 15 | 397 | 0.85 | 21.5 | 32.2 |
| Clare | 3,142 | 17 | 395 | 0.84 | 16.6 | 32.9 |
| Cork | 2,685 | 16 | 394 | 0.85 | 31.9 | 30.7 |
| Donegal | 2,681 | 11 | 400 | 0.85 | 20.8 | 32 |
| Dublin | 124 | 17 | 413 | 0.82 | 27.8 | 31 |
| Galway | 5,104 | 14 | 396 | 0.85 | 16.9 | 32.9 |
| Kerry | 2,129 | 14 | 398 | 0.84 | 20.9 | 32.3 |
| Kildare | 527 | 20 | 396 | 0.85 | 30.2 | 31.4 |
| Kilkenny | 691 | 25 | 395 | 0.84 | 30.5 | 31.1 |
| Laois | 834 | 23 | 399 | 0.83 | 24.2 | 31.5 |
| Leitrim | 1,833 | 10 | 409 | 0.82 | 12.4 | 34.2 |
| Limerick | 1,268 | 17 | 396 | 0.85 | 27.1 | 31.8 |
| Longford | 1,033 | 16 | 396 | 0.84 | 18.3 | 32.7 |
| Louth | 347 | 18 | 392 | 0.85 | 29.4 | 31.3 |
| Mayo | 4,560 | 12 | 394 | 0.86 | 16.4 | 33 |
| Meath | 978 | 20 | 394 | 0.85 | 26.5 | 31.2 |
| Monaghan | 1,361 | 15 | 394 | 0.86 | 25 | 31.4 |
| Offaly | 840 | 21 | 399 | 0.84 | 23.5 | 31.5 |
| Roscommon | 2,474 | 15 | 400 | 0.84 | 14.7 | 33.3 |
| Sligo | 1,788 | 13 | 398 | 0.86 | 13.5 | 33.4 |
| Tipperary | 1,486 | 21 | 394 | 0.86 | 29.8 | 31.1 |
| Waterford | 452 | 24 | 390 | 0.86 | 38.9 | 29.6 |
| Westmeath | 1,105 | 21 | 395 | 0.84 | 16.4 | 32.8 |
| Wexford | 767 | 22 | 397 | 0.84 | 29.6 | 30.4 |
| Wicklow | 617 | 20 | 398 | 0.83 | 25 | 31.6 |
| National Average | 41,274 | 16 | 396 | 0.85 | 21.6 | 32.2 |
Table 1. County by county breakdown of the national beef calving statistics.
Suckler Herd Numbers and Herd Size
Galway and Mayo are well out in front on the number of suckler herds. Combined, they have a total of 9,664 herds which is over 23% of the total herds nationally. Herd size is below the national average for both though, at 14 and 12 respectively.
Kilkenny has the largest average herd size at 25 cows. The number of herds is relatively low at 691, making up just 1.7% of the total herds. Leitrim has the smallest herd size at 10.
Which County Has the Best Calving Performance?
Waterford does not win many All-Ireland’s on the sporting front, but it is very much the All-Ireland champion on the beef calving statistics. It boasts:
- The lowest average calving interval at 390 days.
- The joint highest calves/cow/year at 0.86.
- The highest % of heifers calved 22-26 months at 39%.
- The lowest age of first calving at 29.6 months.
At 38.9%, the proportion of heifers calving at 22–26 months in Co. Waterford is almost double the national average of 21.6%. The average age at first calving in Waterford is 29.6 months, 2.6 months younger than the national average of 32.2 months.
From this analysis there are some clear patterns. The largest suckler herds with the best reproductive efficiency are in the southeast of Ireland. As you move diagonally across the country to the northwest, herd size generally gets smaller with a decline in efficiency.