The levy board says that improved productivity in 2014 and a better outlook for the dairy sector in the early part of the year led to an increase of more than four per cent in dairy-bred female registrations.
In contrast, dairy-bred male registrations were down more than two per cent. Traditionally finished on intensive cereal-based systems, the better feed outlook does not appear to have encouraged producers to retain these animals for finishing.
Overall, dairy-sired registrations were up just over one per cent, or 11,500 head, on the year.
Two thirds of calves were registered as non-dairy animals, broadly the same proportion as the previous year. However, the longer-term trend shows some decline in the proportion of non-dairy registrations, with almost 75 per cent of calves registered as non-dairy animals in 2006.
While data for the first three months of 2014 indicated that the declining trend in beef-sired registrations was continuing, numbers since then have been higher than the previous year -- the first time since 2011 that beef-sired registrations have recorded a year-on-year increase in the main calving months of April and May.
Although Limousin genetics remain dominant for beef-sired breeds, accounting for 19 per cent of all registrations, numbers were back on the year. The next most popular breed was Aberdeen Angus, which continued to dominate the native beef types. Registrations increased over nine per cent on the year to account for 11 per cent of all calf registrations. This breed has steadily increased in prevalence over the past few years; Aberdeen Angus accounted for just 14 per cent of all beef-sired registrations in 2011, by 2014 this figure was 17 per cent.
Following a similar trend, Hereford calf registrations were up 12 per cent on the year, again accounting for a greater share of the calf registration mix.
Charolais were back over three per cent, Simmental down one per cent and Blonde d’Aquitaine back almost 10 per cent.
BCMS birth registrations in Great Britain
Data: BCMS/Eblex