Dairy beef calf registration growth and suckler decline persisted in 2025, but a slowing of trends? Beef market update

Key points:

• In 2025, 2.51 million calves were registered in GB, 1% fewer year-on-year
• Continued growth in dairy beef calf registrations was outweighed by falls in registrations of dairy- and suckler-bred calves, albeit at a slower rate
• Registrations of native breeds such as Aberdeen Angus X and British Blue X continued to grow, as numbers of continental breeds including Limousin and Charolais fell back

Total calf registrations

In total, 2.51 million calves were registered in GB in 2025. This was 21,000 head fewer than the year prior, representing a 1% decline. Trends diverged across cattle types, with growth in registrations of dairy beef calves (beef breed calves with a dairy dam) counteracted by falls in both dairy and suckler beef calves.

Registrations of calves for beef production (suckler, dairy beef + dairy bull calves) totalled 2.03 million head in 2025, flat (-0.4%) on the year.

Figure 1. GB calf registrations by type, annual

Source: BCMS, AHDB calculations

The line graph in Figure 1 shows trends in annual calf registrations by type in Great Britain. Dairy heifer calf registrations are shown in light blue, dairy bulls in dark blue, dairy-beef heifers in brown and dairy-beef bulls in green. Suckler calf registrations, shown by the dashed lines are the largest in number and have been easing since 2017. Dairy heifer registrations have fluctuated and declined since 2021. Dairy-beef calf registrations have been in steady growth, while dairy male registrations have declined steeply.

Registrations from the dairy herd

Calf registrations from the dairy herd were flat (-0.4%) year-on-year in 2025. Dairy bull calf registrations continued their decline, down a further 8% (9,900 head) on 2024.

Dairy heifer registrations also fell on the year, down by 3%, equivalent to 15,000 head. This continues an easing trend, seen since 2021, as dairy herds look to improve efficiency by reducing headcount and increasing milk yield per cow.  

In contrast, we continued to see growth in beef calf registrations to the dairy herd, with a further 30,000 head registered in 2025 versus the year before, growth of nearly 4%. This growth is being driven by increased registrations of Aberdeen Angus X, British Blue X and Charolais X calves.

In 2025, 60% of registrations to dairy dams had a beef sire. This proportion has been steadily growing over the past five years, as uptake of beef genetics in the dairy herd has grown. Of the remaining calves, 32% were dairy heifers and the rest were dairy bull calves.

Registrations from the beef herd

Suckler calf registrations continued the decline that has been seen for the past few years, albeit at a slower rate. Registrations fell by 2% year on year, equating to 26,700 fewer suckler calves entering the system. Generally, continental breed registrations continued to ease, with growth in native breeds.

Figure 2. Birth registrations of the top 10 beef breeds by dam type (dairy / beef)

Source: BCMS, AHDB calculations

Figure 2 shows bar charts of registrations of the ten most popular beef breeds, by dairy origin or beef origin in both 2015 and 2025. The chart shows that registrations of Aberdeen Angus X and British Blue X calves have grown in the decade, while Limousin and Charolais have eased.

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