The total number of Cattle in 2023 was 7,341,481.
The number of Cattle increased by 438,835 (+6.4%) from 2013 to 2023. Since 2013, the number of farms with Cattle fell by 8,756 to 102,564 farms (-7.9%).
The number of Dairy Cows in 2023 was 1,646,641, while the number of Other Cows was 872,148. In 2013, there had been a similar number of Dairy Cows to Other Cows, 1,163,201 and 1,150,274 respectively, but in the 10 years from 2013 to 2023 the number of Dairy Cows has increased by 483,440 animals (+41.6%) while the number of Other Cows has decreased by 278,126 animals (-24.2%).
The average herd size increased from 62 animals to 72 animals (+16.1%) since 2013. The average herd size for Dairy Cows has increased significantly from 64 animals to 98 animals (+53.1%).
The Mid-West and South-West regions reported the most cattle in 2023; 1,477,915 and 1,446,490 animals respectively. The county with the most cattle was Cork with 1,101,229 animals.
X-axis label | Farms with Cattle | All Cattle ('000) | Dairy Cows ('000) | Other Cows ('000) | Other Cattle ('000) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2013 | 111320 | 6902.6 | 1163.2 | 1150.2 | 4589.2 |
2016 | 109396 | 7222.1 | 1398.1 | 1103.7 | 4720.3 |
2020 | 103985 | 7314.6 | 1567.7 | 983.3 | 4763.6 |
2023 | 102564 | 7341.5 | 1646.6 | 872.1 | 4822.7 |
There were 5,550,121 Total Sheep in 2023, up by 607,899 (+12.3%) since 2013. This increase is due to a rise in Ewe numbers by 309,040 animals (+12.1%) and in the Other Sheep category by 298,859 animals (+12.6%).
There were 33,656 farms with sheep in 2023. This is 2,897 fewer farms (-7.9%) with sheep than there was in 2013.
The West and Border regions reported the highest sheep numbers in 2023 with 1,553,190 and 1,349,115 animals respectively. The county with the most sheep was Donegal with 773,056 animals.
X-axis label | Farms with sheep | Total sheep ('000) | Total Ewes ('000) | Total other sheep ('000) |
---|---|---|---|---|
2013 | 36553 | 4942.2 | 2564.1 | 2378.2 |
2016 | 36804 | 5140.4 | 2491.1 | 2649.3 |
2020 | 35505 | 5520.2 | 2753.1 | 2767.1 |
2023 | 33656 | 5550.1 | 2873.1 | 2677 |
There were 1,748,377 Pigs in 2023, up from 1,551,715 (+12.7%) in 2013. The number of farms with pigs was 1,468 in 2023, up from 1,293 (13.5%) in 2013. The average number of pigs on a farm was 1,191.
Since 2013, the number of Pigs <20kg increased by 28,466 pigs (6.7%) to 451,199 animals.
The Border and South-West regions reported the highest number of pigs with 442,397 and 385,507 animals respectively.
X-axis label | Number of Farms | Total Pigs ('000) | Female Breeding Pigs ('000) | Pigs <20kg ('000) | Other Pigs >20kg ('000) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2013 | 1293 | 1551.7 | 143.2 | 422.7 | 985.7 |
2016 | 1339 | 1603.9 | 149.2 | 448.1 | 1006.6 |
2020 | 1431 | 1582.5 | 149.2 | 457.3 | 976.1 |
2023 | 1468 | 1748.4 | 156.5 | 451.2 | 1140.7 |
In 2023 there were 17.1 million Poultry in Ireland, up from 16.5 million (+4.1%) in 2020.
There were 12.6 million Table Birds in 2023, this accounted for 73.7% of all poultry.
The Border Region had the most poultry with 11.5 million animals, this accounted for 67.1% of all poultry.
X-axis label | Farms with Poultry | Total Poultry ('000) | Laying Stock ('000) | Table Birds ('000) | Breeding Birds ('000) | Other Poultry |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2013 | 8078 | 10133.2 | 1940.8 | 7130.6 | 593.6 | 468.1 |
2016 | 9035 | 11053 | 2186 | 7693.9 | 595.6 | 577.5 |
2020 | 6049 | 16470.6 | 3049.7 | 11144.8 | 982 | 1294.1 |
2023 | 5959 | 17138.5 | 2749 | 12627.9 | 842.1 | 919.5 |
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