Limousin and Charolais accounted for 52.3% of calf registrations in Northern Ireland in 2016, figures from the Livestock and Meat Commission (LMC) show.
Limousin was the most popular breed among farmers in the North, with a total of 103,939 Limousin calves registered last year.
This represented 28.3% of the total number of calves born in Northern Ireland in 2016, with Charolais coming in second with a share of 24%.
There was 88,212 Charolais calves registered last year, 15,727 calves less when compared to Limousin, LMC figures show.
Beef-sired calf registrations in Northern Ireland in 2016 Source: LMC
Aberdeen Angus was the only other breed to have registered more 30,000 calves in 2016, finishing the year with close to a 19% share of the total number of beef-sired calves registered.
Calf Registration Trends in 2016
Statistics from the LMC also show that the number of beef-sired calves registered in the North in 2016 increased compared to the previous year.
In 2016, a total of 367,418 beef-sired calves were registered, while there was just 338,378 of these calves registered the previous year.
This was a difference of just over 29,000 calves or an increase of close to 8.6% year-on-year, figures show.
An increase in beef-sired calf registrations was recorded in 10 out of the 12 months last year, with February seeing the largest increase in registrations.
A total of 60,231 beef-sired calves were registered last May, making it the busiest month of 2016, with December representing the quietest month with 17,042 beef-sired calves registered.
In contrast, the number of dairy-sired calves registered in the North last year fell by 4.6%.
This equated to 9,027 less dairy-sired calves in 2016 compared to 2015, according to LMC figures.
In a reversal of trends, a decrease in dairy-sired calf registrations was witnessed in 10 out of the 12 months in the year just gone.
February, October and November proved to be the busiest months when it came to dairy-sired calf registrations, the only months where more than 20,000 calves were registered in 2016.
