The number of Cattle aged 2 years and over decreased from 812,000 to 741,000 (-8.7%) in the 12 months to June 2025.
The number of Dairy Cows fell by around 36,000 (-2.2%) in the year to June 2025.
Breeding Sheep fell by 71,700 (-2.7%) to 2,613,500 when compared with June 2024.
The number of Breeding Pigs dropped by 16,800 (-11%) to 136,000 in June 2025 when compared with June 2024.
The area under Total Cereals rose by 5,800 hectares (ha) (+2.2%) to 267,700 ha in the 12 months to June 2025.
The area under Potatoes decreased by 800 ha in June 2025 to 8,500 ha (-8.8%) in comparison with June 2024.
| X-axis label | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total Cattle | 7358.9 | 7396.2 | 7341.5 | 7183.1 | 6904.8 |
| Total Sheep | 5609.4 | 5967.6 | 5674.4 | 5175.7 | 5098.5 |
| Total Pigs | 1694.3 | 1634.8 | 1661.3 | 1679.9 | 1556.3 |
Provisional estimates for June 2025 show a 5,800 ha (+2.2%) rise in the area under Total Cereals, bringing the total to 267,700 ha compared with June 2024. This is mainly due to a significant increase (+44.3%) in the area under the three main Winter Cereals, despite a 21.3% reduction in the area under the three main Spring Cereals.
The area under Winter Wheat rose by 17,700 ha (+43.6%), Winter Oats went up by 10,100 ha (+134.8%) and Winter Barley increased by 12,700 ha (+29.3%). Spring Wheat, Spring Oats and Spring Barley were down by 2,400 ha (-34.2%), 7,000 ha (-31.4%), and 26,200 ha (-19.0%) respectively.
The area under Potatoes dropped by 800 ha (-8.8%) to 8,500 ha.
| X-axis label | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Winter Wheat | 51.2 | 40.6 | 58.3 |
| Spring Wheat | 4.6 | 7.1 | 4.7 |
| Winter Oats | 10 | 7.5 | 17.5 |
| Spring Oats | 17.2 | 22.3 | 15.3 |
| Winter Barley | 52.9 | 43.3 | 55.9 |
| Spring Barley | 133.4 | 138.2 | 112 |
| Potatoes | 8.2 | 9.3 | 8.5 |
The Total Cattle number was down by 278,300 (-3.9%) to 6,904,800 in June 2025.
The number of Dairy Cows decreased by 36,100 (-2.2%) while the number of Other Cows dropped by 46,800 (-5.7%).
The total number of Cattle aged less than 2 years decreased by 124,300 (-3.2%). The number of Cattle aged 2 years and over decreased by 71,000 (-8.7%).
| X-axis label | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dairy Cows | 1646.6 | 1624 | 1587.9 |
| Other Cows | 872.1 | 825.3 | 778.5 |
| Cattle under 1 | 2074.2 | 2026.4 | 1962.4 |
| Cattle 1-2 yrs | 1910.8 | 1846.4 | 1786 |
| Cattle 2 yrs+ | 791.3 | 812 | 741 |
The June 2025 results show that the total number of Sheep decreased in the last 12 months by 77,200 (-1.5%) to 5,098,500.
Breeding Sheep dropped by 71,700 (-2.7%) and Other Sheep (non-breeding sheep) fell by 5,500 (-0.2%).
Ram numbers increased by 2.9% to 85,200 between June 2024 and June 2025.
| X-axis label | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total sheep | 5674.4 | 5175.7 | 5098.5 |
| Breeding sheep | 3049.6 | 2685.2 | 2613.5 |
| Ewes: 2 years and over | 2378.5 | 2103.5 | 2049.8 |
| Ewes: under 2 years | 578.7 | 498.9 | 478.5 |
| Rams | 92.4 | 82.8 | 85.2 |
| Other sheep | 2624.8 | 2490.5 | 2485 |
The total number of Pigs in Ireland in June 2025 decreased by 7.4% to 1,556,300 when compared with June 2024.
Breeding Pig numbers were down by 16,800 (-11%) to 136,000. The number of Gilts in Pig and Gilts not yet served also dropped by 3,800 (-17.2%) and 3,500 (-16.9%) respectively. The number of Other Sows for breeding decreased to 32,100 (-6.7%).
The number of Other Pigs (non-breeding pigs) fell by 106,700 (-7%) to 1,420,400. Pigs 20kg and under 50kg decreased by 37,300 to 392,100 (-8.7%) while Pigs 20kg and under were down by 11,100 (-2.7%).
| X-axis label | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| <20kg | 413.5 | 405.2 | 394.1 |
| 20-50kg | 415.1 | 429.4 | 392.1 |
| 50-80kg | 324.3 | 329.5 | 280 |
| >80kg | 362.8 | 363 | 354.2 |
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Statistician's Comment
The Central Statistics Office (CSO) has today (29 September 2025) published provisional findings for Crops and Livestock 2025. Commenting on the provisional data, Stephanie Kelleher, Statistician in the Agriculture Surveys Section of the CSO, said:
"Provisional estimates for June 2025 showed decreases in the total number of Cattle, Sheep, and Pigs when compared with June 2024. The total area under crops increased.
Cattle
The number of Dairy Cows dropped by 36,100 (-2.2%), bringing the total to 1,587,900. Cattle under 2 years of age were down by 3.2%, while those 2 years and older decreased by 8.7%.Sheep
The estimated number of Sheep in June 2025 fell by 1.5% to 5,098,500 when compared with June 2024. The number of Rams increased by 2,400 (+2.9%) to 85,200. The figure for Breeding Sheep was 2,613,500 which was down 2.7% while the number of Other Sheep decreased by 0.2% to 2,485,000.Pigs
In June 2025, the number of Pigs in Ireland decreased to 1,556,300, a 7.4% drop compared with June 2024. The number of Breeding Pigs fell by 16,800 (-11%) to 136,000. Non-breeding Pigs also saw a decrease of 106,700 (-7%), dropping to a total of 1,420,400.Crops
The area under Total Cereals increased by 5,800 ha (+2.2%) to 267,700 ha when compared with June 2024. The area under Wheat and Oats rose by 32.0% and 10.3% respectively. Barley decreased by 7.5% to 167,900 ha. The area under Potatoes fell by 8.8%."