The number of Cattle in Ireland in June 2025 was 6,904,800 a fall of 278,300 (-3.9%) when compared with June 2024.
Male Cattle aged 2 years and over were down by 10.5%, while male Cattle aged 1-2 years fell by 5% from June 2024 to June 2025.
The number of Sheep in June 2025 was 5,098,500 a fall of 77,200 (-1.5%) when compared with June 2024.
The number of Pigs in June 2025 was 1,566,500, down 113,400 (-6.8%) when compared with the previous June.
The largest number of Cattle were in the Mid-West region, while the West region accounted for the largest number of Sheep, and the Border region had the highest number of Pigs as of June 2025.
The area under Total Cereals increased by 13,000 hectares (ha) (+4.9%) to 274,900 ha in the 12 months to June 2025.
The total Area Farmed in June 2025 fell by just 300 ha to 4,488,100 ha when compared with June 2024. The area used for Cereal production increased by 13,000 ha (+4.9%) to 274,900 ha. Grassland, which accounts for more than 90% of total Area Farmed, fell by 0.4% in 2025 when compared with 2024.
The Crops and Pasture regional area data in June 2025 shows that the highest area was in the West region (684,600 ha). The total area under Cereals was up by 13,000 ha to 274,900 ha (+4.9%) which was mainly due to an increase in the area of Winter Cereals (+47.7%). The Mid-East and Dublin combined region had the highest area under Cereals (93,500 ha), followed by the South-East region (79,700 ha).
The number of cattle in Ireland in June 2025 was 6,904,800, a fall of 278,300 (-3.9%) compared with June 2024.
The number of Dairy Cows fell by 36,100 (-2.2%) while the number of Other Cows dropped by 46,800 (-5.7%) when compared with June 2024. The number of Bulls was lower by 100 (-0.2%).
The number of Sheep in June 2025 was 5,098,500, a fall of 77,200 (-1.5%) compared with June 2024. The number of Breeding Sheep fell by 2.7% while the number of Other Sheep fell by 0.2%.
The number of Pigs in June 2025 was 1,566,500, a decrease of 113,400 (-6.8%) compared with the previous June. The number of Breeding Pigs decreased by 11% and the number of Other Pigs also fell by 6.3%.
A regional breakdown (by NUTS3 regions) of the total numbers of Sheep and Pigs in June 2025 is provided in Table 4.
The West region had the highest number of Sheep (1,426,100) while the Border region had the highest number of Pigs (507,500).
A regional breakdown (by county) of the total number of Cattle in June 2025 is provided in Table 5.
The Southern region had the highest number of Cattle in June 2025, with over a million Cattle in the Mid-West and South-West regions. Cork was the county with the highest number of Cattle, at just over one million (1,026,000).
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Statistician's Comment
The Central Statistics Office (CSO) has today (26 March 2026) published the Crops and Livestock Survey Final Results June 2025.
Commenting on the release, Stephanie Kelleher, Statistician in the Agriculture Division, said: "The final results for June 2025 show that the total number of Sheep in the country fell by 77,200 (-1.5%) to 5,098,500 when compared with June 2024. The number of Other Sheep fell by 5,500 (-0.2%) to 2,485,000.
The total number of Cattle in the country decreased by 278,300 (-3.9%) to 6,904,800 when compared with June 2024. The total number of Dairy Cows fell by 36,100 (-2.2%) while the total number of Other Cows declined by 46,800 (-5.7%). The total number of Cattle aged 2 years and over fell by 59,400 (-7.3%) in the year since 2024.
A regional analysis of the livestock numbers shows that the largest number of Cattle (1,369,600) were in the Mid-West region, the largest number of Sheep (1,426,100) were in the West region and the largest number of Pigs (507,500) were in the Border region.
Regarding the three main cereals, the land areas under winter wheat, winter oats and winter barley all increased by 19,100 ha (+46.9%), 10,500 ha (+140.3%) and 14,000 ha (+32.4%) respectively in June 2025 when compared with June 2024. The areas under spring wheat, spring oats and spring barley decreased by 2,400 ha (-33.4%), 6,400 ha (-28.8%) and 22,900 ha (-16.5%) compared with June 2024.
Users may also be interested in Agriculture Prices and Agriculture Accounts for this period."