This section provides data on tractors and machinery used and owned by farms. As part of the CSO’s efforts to improve reporting on Agri-Environment Indicators (AEI), this section also includes statistics on the presence of renewable energy sources. Renewable energy refers to power sourced from natural processes that are continuously replenished. This includes energy generated from solar, wind, hydropower, solid biomass, biogas, and other sources. As this is a new module which was introduced in 2023, there is no comparable data available from previous surveys.
In 2023, the estimated number of tractors owned on farms was 201,260. Of these, 47% had an engine power ranging from 81 to 134 Hp (approx. 61 to 100 kW).
X-axis label | Number of Tractors |
---|---|
0-40 kW | 29845 |
41-60 Kw | 46082 |
61-100 Kw | 94416 |
≥100kW | 30918 |
10,339 farms reported owning at least one seeder or planter, including seed drills, planters, and seed sowers. In addition, 68,441 farms indicated ownership of at least one spreader, pulveriser, or sprayer for applying manure or fertilisers. 4,969 farms reported owning at least one combine harvester and 1,554 farms reported owning tillage machinery.
X-axis label | Type of Machiney |
---|---|
Tillage Machinery | 1555 |
Seeders and Planters | 10339 |
Spreaders, Pulverisers, or Sprayers for Fertilisers | 68442 |
Application Equipment for Plant Protection Products | 12913 |
Combine Harvesters | 4969 |
Other Fully Mechanised Harvesters | 4310 |
8,207 farms reported using grinder mixers for animal feeding, 9,073 farms reported using automatic feeding systems and 1,150 farms utilised milking robots to enhance their livestock management practices.
X-axis label | Number of Farms |
---|---|
Welfare and health monitoring of animals | 36364 |
Grinder mixer for animal feeding | 8209 |
Automatic feeding systems | 9074 |
Automatic regulation of barn climate | 991 |
Milking robots | 1150 |
9,734 farms operated GPS-guided machinery for applying plant protection products, while 1,507 farms incorporated robotics for precision farming.
The survey indicated that 3,281 farms employed variable rate techniques for one or more of the following activities: fertilisation, plant protection, weeding, sowing, planting, and others. 4,153 farms engaged in band-spraying for plant protection products. 53,107 farms conducted soil sampling for analysis.
In 2023, a total of 6,323 holdings in Ireland reported having at least one form of renewable energy source present on their farm, representing 4.7% of all farms. The most prevalent renewable energy source was photovoltaic solar energy, with 2,833 farms having photovoltaic solar panels on their land. 1,899 farms reported the presence of thermal solar panels on their land. Wind turbines were present on 1,374 farms during the same year.
X-axis label | Renewable Energy Types |
---|---|
Wind | 1374 |
Biomass | 490 |
Bio-gas from biomass | 215 |
Solar energy ( thermal) | 1899 |
Solar energy (photovoltaic) | 2833 |
Hydro-energy | 224 |
Renewable energy - Other Sources | 810 |
Any renewable energy sourse present | 6323 |
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