The estimated total number of farms in Ireland in 2023 was 133,174. The number of farms continues to fall gradually. Over the ten year period from 2013 to 2023, the number of farms fell from 139,595 to 133,174 (-4.6%).
The total area used for farming, or Utilised Agricultural Area (UAA), in 2023 was estimated to be just over 4.6 million hectares (ha). The average (i.e. mean) farm size in 2023 was estimated to be 34.7 ha, up by 6.8% from 32.5 ha in 2013.
| X-axis label | Number of Farms ('000) |
|---|---|
| 2013 | 139.6 |
| 2016 | 137.5 |
| 2020 | 135 |
| 2023 | 133.174 |
The number of farms in each NUTS3 region is shown in Map 2.1. The West region had the highest number of farms (30,204) accounting for 22.7% of farms, followed by the Border region (26,366, 19.8%) and the South-West region (21,515, 16.2%). The Dublin and Mid-East regions had the fewest farms with 680 (0.5%) and 10,981 farms (8.2%) respectively.
The mean farm size or Utilised Agricultural Area (UAA) in 2023 was 34.7 ha.
34,410 farms reported a farm size of less than 10 ha while 7,421 farms had a farms size of 100 ha or greater.
The county with the largest average farm size in 2023 was Wicklow with 51.5 ha. Farms in Monaghan were the smallest, reporting a mean farm size of 22.4 ha.
While the West and Border regions reported the highest number of farms, these farms were smaller on average with mean UAA of 28.7 and 27.8 ha respectively.
Despite reporting the fewest number of farms in 2023, farms in the Dublin and Mid-East regions had the highest mean UAA with 46.8 ha and 43.4 ha respectively.
In terms of the classification of farms by farm type, more than half of all farms were classified as Specialist Beef Production (56.1%). Specialist Sheep (13.1%) and Specialist Dairying (11.4%) were the next highest categories.
Almost two thirds (65.0%) of Specialist Sheep farms were in the Border and West regions, while more than two thirds (71%) of Specialist Dairying were in the Mid-West, South-East and South-West regions. Around 6 in 10 Specialist Tillage farms were in the South-East, Mid-East and Dublin regions.
| X-axis label | 2023 |
|---|---|
| Specialist Tillage | 3.7 |
| Specialist Dairying | 11.4 |
| Specialist Beef Production | 56.1 |
| Specialist Sheep | 13.1 |
| Mixed Grazing Livestock | 5.6 |
| Mixed Crops and Livestock | 1.4 |
| Mixed Field Crops | 7.3 |
| Other | 1.4 |
| X-axis label | 2013 | 2016 | 2020 | 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Specialist Tillage | 5.3 | 4.7 | 4.6 | 4.9 |
| Specialist Dairying | 15.6 | 16.1 | 15.3 | 15.2 |
| Specialist Beef Production | 78.8 | 78.3 | 74.2 | 74.7 |
| Specialist Sheep | 15 | 15.1 | 17.4 | 17.5 |
| Mixed Grazing Livestock | 13.1 | 11.6 | 8.5 | 7.4 |
| Mixed Crops and Livestock | 2.6 | 2.1 | 1.8 | 1.8 |
| Mixed field crops | 7.9 | 8.2 | 11.5 | 9.8 |
| Other | 1.3 | 1.3 | 1.8 | 1.9 |
Specialist Dairying farms were the largest type of farm in 2023 with an average size of 70.2 ha. These farms also had the highest proportion of farms that were over 100 ha (17.3%).
In each of the categories, Specialist Dairying, Mixed Crops and Livestock, and Specialist Tillage farms, more than 40% of farms were over 50 ha.
Farms in the Mixed Field Crops and Other categories had the smallest areas on average, with 17.1 ha and 14.7 ha respectively. More than 50% of these farms were smaller than 10 ha, 53.9% for Mixed Field Crop farms and 66.2% for Other Farms.
| X-axis label | Less than 10 ha | 10 - 20 ha | 20 - 30ha | 30 - 50ha | 50 - 100ha | 100ha+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Specialist Dairying | 0.9 | 3 | 7.9 | 26.1 | 44.7 | 17.3 |
| Mixed Crops and Livestock | 3.7 | 10.2 | 12.9 | 27.3 | 31.9 | 14.1 |
| Specialist Tillage | 9.3 | 14.2 | 13.6 | 20.6 | 25.2 | 17.1 |
| Mixed Grazing Livestock | 15.4 | 16.7 | 15.2 | 23.1 | 20.6 | 9.1 |
| Specialist Beef Production | 26.6 | 27.1 | 18.3 | 17.6 | 8.6 | 1.8 |
| Specialist Sheep | 35.5 | 21.2 | 11.7 | 12.9 | 10.2 | 8.5 |
| Other | 66.2 | 11.4 | 6.9 | 7.5 | 6.1 | 1.9 |
| Mixed Field Crops | 53.9 | 23.1 | 10 | 7.6 | 3.8 | 1.6 |
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