Census of Agriculture 2010

“Taking Stock”- Census of Agriculture 2010 Results

The CSO today published the preliminary results of the Census of Agriculture 2010 which was conducted in June 2010. The preliminary results give a snapshot of agricultural activity in Ireland in 2010, compared to 2000 when the previous Census was conducted.

The purpose of the Census is to collect detailed statistics on the structure of agricultural holdings in Ireland. Such information is crucial in the development of agriculture policy in Ireland and in the European Union.

The Census of Agriculture 2010 was the first Census to use data from administrative data sources from the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) in addition to data collected directly from agricultural holdings by postal survey. A total of 154,000 questionnaires were issued in late May 2010. The use of administrative data sources and the collection of data on cattle, cereals and certain crops from these sources reduced the response burden for farmers as this facilitated the use of a smaller questionnaire for the farmer to complete.

The key results show

• There were 139,800 farm holdings in operation in June 2010.
• The total area of land used for agricultural production amounted to 4.6 million hectares in 2010. The average size of holding in 2010 was 32.7 hectares, a marginal increase since 2000 when the average holding was 31.4 hectares.
• There was a total of 6.6 million cattle in the State in June 2010, down from just over 7 million in 2000 (-6.1%) The average cattle herd increased from 57 to 60 animals while the number of farms which had cattle fell by 11% in the 10 year period. County Cork had the highest number of cattle, just shy of 1 million (994,000).
• The total number of sheep fell from 7.6 million in 2000 to just 5.1 million in 2010, a decrease of one third. The counties with the largest number of sheep were Donegal (618,000), Galway (574,000) and Mayo (542,000).
• In 2010 there were 1,214 farms with pigs. The total number of pigs in the country amounted to 1.5 million, down from more than 1.7 million ten years earlier. The largest number of pigs was in Cavan, where almost one in five of the total national herd is located.
• In the ten years between 2000 and 2010, poultry numbers fell by more than one fifth, decreasing from a total of 14 million to 11 million in 2010. The largest concentration of poultry was in Cavan and Monaghan where 65% of the total national stock is produced.
• There were 11,374 farms involved in cereal growing in 2010, a reduction of 23% since 2000. However, the total area under cereals fell by just 1.8% during that period, reflecting higher average farm sizes. In 2010, Barley represented 64% of the total area under cereals.

Final results will be made available in the last quarter of 2012.

For further information contact:

Fiona O'Callaghan on 021 453 5705, Hilda McCarthy on 021 453 5084 or

Susan O'Connor on 021 453 5520.

E-mail: agriculture@cso.ie

Internet: www.cso.ie (PDF 11,340KB)   

Central Statistics Office                                                                    14 February 2011

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