Agriculture Statistical Yearbook of Ireland 2014

Introduction - Crops & Livestock

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This chapter contains information on crops and livestock numbers in Ireland for the period 1853 to 2013. The statistics are drawn from CSO surveys and administrative data from the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine. Livestock Slaughterings provides details on the number of cattle, sheep and pigs slaughtered. These figures include slaughterings at both meat establishments approved by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) and slaughterhouses and meat plants approved by Local Authorities under S.I.432 of 2009.

Area under crops and pasture in June

21.1 Area under crops and pasture in June							Hectares (thousands)
Crop	2006	2007	2008 ¹	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013
Total wheat	87.5	84.3	110.7	84.5	77.8	94.2	98.0	60.6
Winter	59.2	64.7	87.5	64.3	59.8	77.7	84.6	45.4
Spring	28.3	19.6	23.2	20.2	18.0	16.4	13.5	15.2

Total oats	20.4	21.3	22.9	20.4	19.7	21.4	23.7	26.7
Winter	9.3	13.5	18.7	9.1	10.3	9.0	9.9	5.4
Spring	11.1	7.8	4.2	11.3	9.4	12.4	13.8	21.3

Total barley	167.0	167.5	187.2	193.6	174.8	180.6	192.8	219.4
Winter	15.1	18.7	21.1	19.3	28.8	35.9	41.0	36.0
Spring	151.9	148.8	166.0	174.3	146.0	144.8	151.8	183.5

Other cereals	4.9	5.8	1.3	1.3	1.6	1.2	0.9	1.1

Total cereals	279.8	278.9	322.0	299.8	273.9	297.4	315.4	307.8

Beans and peas	4.3	2.9	2.5	4.2	4.6	2.9	4.1	4.5
Oilseed rape	5.1	8.2	5.6	6.3	8.0	12.4	17.5	13.7
Arable Silage	14.7	17.0	3.7	3.8	4.1	2.9	2.4	3.9
Maize Silage	20.2	20.9	24.5	24.7	22.8	19.0	13.7	14.5
Potatoes	11.5	11.7	11.2	12.2	12.2	10.4	9.0	10.7
Turnips	1.2	1.1	1.0	1.1	1.2	1.0	1.1	0.9
Beet	9.3	7.8	9.2	10.8	9.6	8.2	7.8	10.1
Sugar beet	1.7	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a
Fodder beet	7.7	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a
Fodder rape and kale	2.4	2.0	0.9	1.5	1.8	1.3	1.7	1.4
Vegetables for sale	3.9	4.2	3.7	4.4	4.9	3.8	3.6	3.5
Fruit	1.5	1.6	0.4	0.4	1.2	0.8	0.9	0.9
Nursery stock, bulbs and flowers	1.4	1.2	0.3	0.2	0.3	0.4	0.4	0.5
Other crops	25.8	21.8	0.0	0.0	9.4	4.9	4.5	4.7

Total crops, fruit and horticulture	381.0	379.4	385.0	369.4	353.9	365.4	382.1	377.2

Silage	1,211.2	1,039.9	1,161.5	1,153.1	1,076.4	1,070.2	1,075.0	1,071.0
Hay	264.6	243.3	267.2	245.7	193.8	213.2	203.5	218.4
Pasture	1,932.7	2,158.5	2,314.9	2,333.7	2,507.6	2,459.3	2,391.0	2,337.7

Crops and pasture	3,789.5	3,821.1	4,128.6	4,101.9	4,131.7	4,108.2	4,051.5	4,004.3

Rough grazing in use	471.0	454.8	500.4	492.1	437.3	447.3	481.2	473.5

Area farmed	4,260.5	4,275.9	4,629.0	4,593.9	4,568.9	4,555.5	4,532.7	4,477.8

¹ New series from 2008
Source: CSO and Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine

Open in Excel: 21.1 Area under crops and pasture in June (XLS 36KB)

Interactive table: StatBank link

The total area farmed in 2013 was 4.5 million hectares. Crops, fruit and horticulture accounted for 8% of that area, silage for 24%, hay for 5%, pasture for 52% and rough grazing for 11%.

Area under selected crops 1853-2013

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	Wheat	Oats	Barley	Potatoes
1853	113	639	113	279
1854	143	596	95	308
1855	155	612	89	309
1856	181	588	71	345
1857	192	565	81	359
1858	185	561	74	360
1859	157	568	69	374
1860	157	560	71	361
1861	133	574	78	349
1862	118	565	76	311
1863	87	566	69	315
1864	96	526	70	322
1865	93	496	72	330
1866	102	488	61	323
1867	88	475	69	308
1868	93	486	75	320
1869	87	481	90	320
1870	80	461	97	319
1871	74	458	89	322
1872	66	451	88	301
1873	50	415	92	272
1874	57	403	85	270
1875	47	408	93	272
1876	35	407	88	266
1877	42	403	90	262
1878	48	380	97	254
1879	48	356	101	252
1880	45	378	87	247
1881	47	383	83	257
1882	46	385	74	252
1883	27	381	73	242
1884	19	371	67	240
1885	20	363	71	239
1886	19	365	72	239
1887	18	362	65	238
1888	29	348	68	239
1889	28	335	74	235
1890	28	329	73	232
1891	24	328	71	222
1892	22	330	70	218
1893	16	336	67	212
1894	14	340	66	211
1895	10	329	69	208
1896	11	318	69	206
1897	13	313	68	199
1898	15	313	63	195
1899	15	301	67	194
1900	15	293	69	191
1901	13	293	64	186
1902	13	287	67	183
1903	11	293	63	181
1904	9	287	63	179
1905	11	283	62	177
1906	13	287	70	178
1907	12	290	67	172
1908	12	286	61	169
1909	14	276	64	167
1910	15	289	67	173
1911	15	284	63	172
1912	15	281	66	170
1913	11	284	68	168
1914	12	281	68	167
1915	29	299	57	172
1916	26	294	60	172
1917	43	420	71	210
1918	55	457	74	205
1919	24	410	74	172
1920	18	366	82	170
1921	16	332	68	166
1922	15	311	66	165
1923	15	295	59	161
1924	13	279	63	159
1925	9	272	59	154
1926	12	262	57	152
1927	14	261	49	148
1928	13	262	52	147
1929	12	270	48	147
1930	11	261	47	140
1931	8	252	47	140
1932	9	256	42	141
1933	20	257	48	138
1934	38	236	58	139
1935	66	249	56	136
1936	103	226	53	135
1937	89	232	53	132
1938	93	231	48	132
1939	103	217	30	128
1940	124	276	54	148
1941	187	317	66	173
1942	233	355	75	172
1943	206	379	85	165
1944	260	383	68	167
1945	268	338	69	157
1946	260	336	58	158
1947	235	334	59	155
1948	210	356	48	156
1949	147	278	64	142
1950	148	249	50	136
1951	114	251	68	130
1952	103	247	91	125
1953	143	231	76	125
1954	197	216	66	118
1955	145	221	86	116
1956	137	212	96	115
1957	164	186	124	108
1958	170	185	125	106
1959	114	187	135	105
1960	148	172	133	95
1961	140	149	146	86
1962	127	140	164	85
1963	94	134	174	83
1964	87	117	184	74
1965	74	115	188	71
1966	53	98	187	68
1967	76	96	183	65
1968	90	88	184	59
1969	82	77	198	55
1970	95	68	214	57
1971	91	60	235	52
1972	68	52	252	44
1973	58	50	243	48
1974	57	47	246	42
1975	45	49	245	41
1976	50	40	259	47
1977	48	35	298	53
1978	50	31	325	41
1979	50	28	350	41
1980	53	25	366	42
1981	49	23	354	36
1982	57	23	326	37
1983	59	23	305	33
1984	77	26	292	35
1985	78	25	284	32
1986	75	23	265	30
1987	56	23	255	29
1988	59	23	242	27
1989	61	22	237	25
1990	70	22	207	24
1991	86	21	193	20
1992	91	20	184	22
1993	79	20	181	22
1994	74	21	170	21
1995	71	20	179	22
1996	86	21	181	24
1997	94	21	190	18
1998	84	19	191	19
1999	68	20	192	18
2000	78	17	182	14
2001	85	17	182	14
2002	103	19	176	15
2003	96	21	183	14
2004	103	20	184	13
2005	95	17	164	12
2006	88	20	167	12
2007	84	21	168	12
2008	111	23	187	11
2009	85	20	194	12
2010	78	20	175	12
2011	94	21	181	10
2012	98	24	193	9
2013	61	27	219	11

21.2 Area under selected crops 1853-2013

21.2 Area under selected crops 1853 - 2013				Hectares (thousands)
Year	Wheat	Oats	Barley	Potatoes
1853	113	639	113	279
1854	143	596	95	308
1855	155	612	89	309
1856	181	588	71	345
1857	192	565	81	359
1858	185	561	74	360
1859	157	568	69	374
1860	157	560	71	361
1861	133	574	78	349
1862	118	565	76	311
1863	87	566	69	315
1864	96	526	70	322
1865	93	496	72	330
1866	102	488	61	323
1867	88	475	69	308
1868	93	486	75	320
1869	87	481	90	320
1870	80	461	97	319
1871	74	458	89	322
1872	66	451	88	301
1873	50	415	92	272
1874	57	403	85	270
1875	47	408	93	272
1876	35	407	88	266
1877	42	403	90	262
1878	48	380	97	254
1879	48	356	101	252
1880	45	378	87	247
1881	47	383	83	257
1882	46	385	74	252
1883	27	381	73	242
1884	19	371	67	240
1885	20	363	71	239
1886	19	365	72	239
1887	18	362	65	238
1888	29	348	68	239
1889	28	335	74	235
1890	28	329	73	232
1891	24	328	71	222
1892	22	330	70	218
1893	16	336	67	212
1894	14	340	66	211
1895	10	329	69	208
1896	11	318	69	206
1897	13	313	68	199
1898	15	313	63	195
1899	15	301	67	194
1900	15	293	69	191
1901	13	293	64	186
1902	13	287	67	183
1903	11	293	63	181
1904	9	287	63	179
1905	11	283	62	177
1906	13	287	70	178
1907	12	290	67	172
1908	12	286	61	169
1909	14	276	64	167
1910	15	289	67	173
1911	15	284	63	172
1912	15	281	66	170
1913	11	284	68	168
1914	12	281	68	167
1915	29	299	57	172
1916	26	294	60	172
1917	43	420	71	210
1918	55	457	74	205
1919	24	410	74	172
1920	18	366	82	170
1921	16	332	68	166
1922	15	311	66	165
1923	15	295	59	161
1924	13	279	63	159
1925	9	272	59	154
1926	12	262	57	152
1927	14	261	49	148
1928	13	262	52	147
1929	12	270	48	147
1930	11	261	47	140
1931	8	252	47	140
1932	9	256	42	141
1933	20	257	48	138
1934	38	236	58	139
1935	66	249	56	136
1936	103	226	53	135
1937	89	232	53	132
1938	93	231	48	132
1939	103	217	30	128
1940	124	276	54	148
1941	187	317	66	173
1942	233	355	75	172
1943	206	379	85	165
1944	260	383	68	167
1945	268	338	69	157
1946	260	336	58	158
1947	235	334	59	155
1948	210	356	48	156
1949	147	278	64	142
1950	148	249	50	136
1951	114	251	68	130
1952	103	247	91	125
1953	143	231	76	125
1954	197	216	66	118
1955	145	221	86	116
1956	137	212	96	115
1957	164	186	124	108
1958	170	185	125	106
1959	114	187	135	105
1960	148	172	133	95
1961	140	149	146	86
1962	127	140	164	85
1963	94	134	174	83
1964	87	117	184	74
1965	74	115	188	71
1966	53	98	187	68
1967	76	96	183	65
1968	90	88	184	59
1969	82	77	198	55
1970	95	68	214	57
1971	91	60	235	52
1972	68	52	252	44
1973	58	50	243	48
1974	57	47	246	42
1975	45	49	245	41
1976	50	40	259	47
1977	48	35	298	53
1978	50	31	325	41
1979	50	28	350	41
1980	53	25	366	42
1981	49	23	354	36
1982	57	23	326	37
1983	59	23	305	33
1984	77	26	292	35
1985	78	25	284	32
1986	75	23	265	30
1987	56	23	255	29
1988	59	23	242	27
1989	61	22	237	25
1990	70	22	207	24
1991	86	21	193	20
1992	91	20	184	22
1993	79	20	181	22
1994	74	21	170	21
1995	71	20	179	22
1996	86	21	181	24
1997	94	21	190	18
1998	84	19	191	19
1999	68	20	192	18
2000	78	17	182	14
2001	85	17	182	14
2002	103	19	176	15
2003	96	21	183	14
2004	103	20	184	13
2005	95	17	164	12
2006	88	20	167	12
2007	84	21	168	12
2008 ¹	111	23	187	11
2009	85	20	194	12
2010	78	20	175	12
2011	94	21	181	10
2012	98	24	193	9
2013	61	27	219	11

¹ New series from 2008
Source: CSO and Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine

Open in Excel: 21.2 Area under selected crops 1853-2013 (XLS 16KB)

Interactive tables: StatBank link

The greatest change has been the decline in the areas of Oats and Potatoes with the area devoted to both crops in 2013 being less than 5% of the respective areas in 1853.

Number of livestock in June

21.3 Number of livestock in June								Thousands
Description	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013

Cattle
Bulls	70.7	61.1	57.5	55.2	52.0	41.8	36.1	41.4

Dairy cows	1,084.7	1,089.8	1,095.2	1,096.7	1,070.8	1,116.9	1,140.8	1,163.2
Other cows	1,182.4	1,207.1	1,220.1	1,203.7	1,158.4	1,123.3	1,148.6	1,150.3

Cattle male: 2 years and over	565.1	509.7	475.8	501.2	506.2	425.5	360.6	388.2
Cattle female: 2 years and over	400.8	396.4	390.3	409.3	426.2	411.9	372.0	380.1

Cattle male: 1-2 years	845.2	817.9	832.2	851.4	760.3	673.4	770.2	872.7
Cattle female: 1-2 years	876.0	867.7	871.7	884.2	871.5	854.7	889.8	938.3

Cattle male: under 1 year	951.1	947.1	969.4	918.2	826.7	891.9	1,023.2	959.2
Cattle female: under 1 year	1,001.7	994.0	989.9	970.8	934.6	953.6	1,012.8	1,009.3

Total cattle male	2,432.1	2,335.8	2,334.8	2,326.0	2,145.1	2,032.7	2,190.1	2,261.5
Total cattle female	4,545.7	4,555.1	4,567.2	4,564.7	4,461.5	4,460.3	4,564.1	4,641.1

Total cattle	6,977.8	6,890.9	6,902.1	6,890.7	6,606.6	6,493.0	6,754.1	6,902.6

Sheep
Rams	95.7	89.6	81.8	73.9	80.0	73.7	77.7	80.4

Ewes	3,104.3	2,854.2	2,614.1	2,451.0	2,449.5	2,435.2	2,589.3	2,568.2
2 years and over	2,619.7	2,402.1	2,219.5	2,060.1	1,964.8	1,939.1	2,027.9	2,028.7
under 2 years	484.6	452.1	394.6	390.9	484.8	496.1	561.4	539.5

Other sheep	2,773.2	2,577.8	2,365.4	2,253.1	2,215.9	2,321.0	2,503.0	2,462.0
Total sheep	5,973.2	5,521.6	5,061.4	4,778.0	4,745.4	4,830.0	5,170.0	5,110.6

Pigs
Boars	1.9	1.8	1.7	1.6	1.7	1.3	1.1	0.9

Female breeding pigs	167.5	163.6	155.7	147.4	159.7	154.9	144.6	146.5

Other pigs classified by liveweight	1,473.8	1,422.4	1,304.6	1,236.2	1,354.9	1,392.8	1,425.0	1,404.6
20 kg and over	1,037.5	972.5	916.0	865.0	961.5	972.0	980.7	955.8
under 20 kg	436.3	449.9	388.7	371.3	393.4	420.8	444.3	448.8
Total pigs	1,643.2	1,587.8	1,462.0	1,385.2	1,516.3	1,549.0	1,570.6	1,552.0

Horses and ponies	86.6	89.2	95.7	98.1	106.0	106.0	111.1	101.6

Mules, jennets and asses	7.0	7.2	8.8	8.8	7.5	8.7	9.8	8.2

Goats	6.7	7.3	8.9	10.1	10.5	11.4	10.3	8.7

Farmed deer	9.3	9.6	9.7	9.2	5.2	2.8	2.1	1.5

Source: CSO and Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine

Open in Excel: 21.3 Number of livestock in June (XLS 36KB)

Interactive table: StatBank link

In June 2013 there were 6.9 million cattle, 5.1 million sheep and 1.6 million pigs.

Number of cattle, sheep and pigs 1853-2013

Open in Excel:

	Cattle	Sheep	Pigs
1853	2695000	2959000	920000
1854	2792000	3507000	1096000
1855	2847000	3393000	994000
1856	2868000	3477000	759000
1857	2902000	3240000	1029000
1858	2955000	3297000	1207000
1859	3062000	3391000	1034000
1860	2898000	3350000	1049000
1861	2803000	3358000	932000
1862	2617000	3270000	954000
1863	2539000	3138000	913000
1864	2636000	3181000	896000
1865	2834000	3489000	1097000
1866	3022000	4029000	1236000
1867	2996000	4546000	1050000
1868	2953000	4580000	751000
1869	3031000	4350000	922000
1870	3081000	4065000	1221000
1871	3199000	3948000	1325000
1872	3268000	3964000	1160000
1873	3362000	4180000	891000
1874	3348000	4172000	916000
1875	3346000	3988000	1029000
1876	3342000	3765000	1165000
1877	3238000	3739000	1221000
1878	3271000	3847000	1068000
1879	3338000	3779000	892000
1880	3212000	3341000	729000
1881	3268000	3051000	924000
1882	3283000	2880000	1170000
1883	3367000	3016000	1139000
1884	3384000	3059000	1071000
1885	3467000	3262000	1036000
1886	3423000	3132000	1033000
1887	3412000	3117000	1146000
1888	3347000	3350000	1111000
1889	3370000	3478000	1136000
1890	3501000	3955000	1286000
1891	3660000	4295000	1108000
1892	3716000	4396000	905000
1893	3671000	4033000	936000
1894	3617000	3741000	1116000
1895	3575000	3563000	1093000
1896	3623000	3717000	1125000
1897	3662000	3796000	1064000
1898	3691000	3911000	1031000
1899	3718000	3983000	1129000
1900	3804000	3980000	1045000
1901	3868000	3981000	1015000
1902	3942000	3821000	1100000
1903	3861000	3568000	1154000
1904	3866000	3468000	1096000
1905	3842000	3394000	945000
1906	3836000	3352000	1001000
1907	3889000	3425000	1085000
1908	4020000	3703000	1046000
1909	3942000	3729000	954000
1910	3934000	3600000	990000
1911	3950000	3543000	1160000
1912	4049000	3466000	1100000
1913	4134000	3273000	895000
1914	4237000	3234000	1084000
1915	4060000	3207000	1008000
1916	4167000	3355000	1089000
1917	4132000	3327000	844000
1918	4093000	3218000	859000
1919	4232000	3045000	863000
1920	4261000	3016000	887000
1921	4419000	3020000	891000
1922	4375000	2794000	938000
1923	4278000	2666000	1186000
1924	4268000	2726000	987000
1925	3991000	2813000	732000
1926	3947000	3003000	884000
1927	4047000	3120000	1178000
1928	4125000	3263000	1183000
1929	4137000	3375000	945000
1930	4038000	3515000	1052000
1931	4029000	3575000	1227000
1932	4025000	3461000	1108000
1933	4137000	3405000	931000
1934	4086000	2931000	968000
1935	4020000	3042000	1088000
1936	4014000	3062000	1017000
1937	3955000	3000000	934000
1938	4056000	3197000	959000
1939	4057000	3048000	931000
1940	4023000	3071000	1049000
1941	4151000	2909000	764000
1942	4084000	2693000	519000
1943	4136000	2560000	434000
1944	4246000	2663000	381000
1945	4211000	2581000	426000
1946	4146000	2423000	479000
1947	3950000	2094000	457000
1948	3921000	2058000	457000
1949	4127000	2193000	675000
1950	4322000	2385000	645000
1951	4376000	2616000	558000
1952	4309000	2857000	719000
1953	4397000	2930000	882000
1954	4504000	3113000	958000
1955	4484000	3269000	799000
1956	4537000	3439000	747000
1957	4417000	3720000	900000
1958	4466000	4174000	948000
1959	4684000	4412000	852000
1960	4741000	4314000	951000
1961	4713000	4528000	1056000
1962	4742000	4671000	1111000
1963	4860000	4691000	1102000
1964	4962000	4950000	1108000
1965	5359000	5014000	1266000
1966	5590000	4664000	1014000
1967	5586000	4239000	985000
1968	5572000	4077000	1063000
1969	5688000	4006000	1116000
1970	5957000	4082000	1193000
1971	6134000	4189000	1323000
1972	6438000	4260000	1199000
1973	6970000	4261000	1108000
1974	7215000	4060000	923000
1975	7168000	3683000	796000
1976	6954000	3475000	925000
1977	7124000	3534000	939000
1978	7098000	3427000	1031000
1979	7093000	3392000	1103000
1980	6909000	3292000	1031000
1981	6744000	3402000	1021000
1982	6728000	3571000	1057000
1983	6810000	3868000	1081000
1984	6807000	4074000	1036000
1985	6819000	4487000	1004000
1986	6616000	5012000	1003000
1987	6545000	5595000	999000
1988	6464000	6656000	1014000
1989	6642000	7625000	1067000
1990	6816000	8539000	1194000
1991	6912000	8888000	1304000
1992	6951000	8898000	1386000
1993	6982000	8627000	1522000
1994	6996000	8404000	1530000
1995	7034000	8331000	1550000
1996	7314000	7888000	1621000
1997	7533000	8132000	1700000
1998	7640000	8312000	1819000
1999	7387000	7925000	1787000
2000	7037000	7555000	1722000
2001	7050000	7330000	1743000
2002	6992000	7210000	1785000
2003	7000000	6849000	1726000
2004	7016000	6777000	1653000
2005	6992000	6392000	1688000
2006	6978000	5973000	1643000
2007	6891000	5522000	1588000
2008	6902000	5061000	1462000
2009	6891000	4778000	1385000
2010	6607000	4745000	1516000
2011	6493000	4830000	1549000
2012	6754000	5170000	1571000
2013	6903000	5111000	1552000

21.4 Number of cattle, sheep and pigs 1853-2013

21.4 Number of cattle, sheep and pigs 1853 - 2013			Thousands
Year	Cattle	Sheep	Pigs
1853	2,695	2,959	920
1854	2,792	3,507	1,096
1855	2,847	3,393	994
1856	2,868	3,477	759
1857	2,902	3,240	1,029
1858	2,955	3,297	1,207
1859	3,062	3,391	1,034
1860	2,898	3,350	1,049
1861	2,803	3,358	932
1862	2,617	3,270	954
1863	2,539	3,138	913
1864	2,636	3,181	896
1865	2,834	3,489	1,097
1866	3,022	4,029	1,236
1867	2,996	4,546	1,050
1868	2,953	4,580	751
1869	3,031	4,350	922
1870	3,081	4,065	1,221
1871	3,199	3,948	1,325
1872	3,268	3,964	1,160
1873	3,362	4,180	891
1874	3,348	4,172	916
1875	3,346	3,988	1,029
1876	3,342	3,765	1,165
1877	3,238	3,739	1,221
1878	3,271	3,847	1,068
1879	3,338	3,779	892
1880	3,212	3,341	729
1881	3,268	3,051	924
1882	3,283	2,880	1,170
1883	3,367	3,016	1,139
1884	3,384	3,059	1,071
1885	3,467	3,262	1,036
1886	3,423	3,132	1,033
1887	3,412	3,117	1,146
1888	3,347	3,350	1,111
1889	3,370	3,478	1,136
1890	3,501	3,955	1,286
1891	3,660	4,295	1,108
1892	3,716	4,396	905
1893	3,671	4,033	936
1894	3,617	3,741	1,116
1895	3,575	3,563	1,093
1896	3,623	3,717	1,125
1897	3,662	3,796	1,064
1898	3,691	3,911	1,031
1899	3,718	3,983	1,129
1900	3,804	3,980	1,045
1901	3,868	3,981	1,015
1902	3,942	3,821	1,100
1903	3,861	3,568	1,154
1904	3,866	3,468	1,096
1905	3,842	3,394	945
1906	3,836	3,352	1,001
1907	3,889	3,425	1,085
1908	4,020	3,703	1,046
1909	3,942	3,729	954
1910	3,934	3,600	990
1911	3,950	3,543	1,160
1912	4,049	3,466	1,100
1913	4,134	3,273	895
1914	4,237	3,234	1,084
1915	4,060	3,207	1,008
1916	4,167	3,355	1,089
1917	4,132	3,327	844
1918	4,093	3,218	859
1919	4,232	3,045	863
1920	4,261	3,016	887
1921	4,419	3,020	891
1922	4,375	2,794	938
1923	4,278	2,666	1,186
1924	4,268	2,726	987
1925	3,991	2,813	732
1926	3,947	3,003	884
1927	4,047	3,120	1,178
1928	4,125	3,263	1,183
1929	4,137	3,375	945
1930	4,038	3,515	1,052
1931	4,029	3,575	1,227
1932	4,025	3,461	1,108
1933	4,137	3,405	931
1934	4,086	2,931	968
1935	4,020	3,042	1,088
1936	4,014	3,062	1,017
1937	3,955	3,000	934
1938	4,056	3,197	959
1939	4,057	3,048	931
1940	4,023	3,071	1,049
1941	4,151	2,909	764
1942	4,084	2,693	519
1943	4,136	2,560	434
1944	4,246	2,663	381
1945	4,211	2,581	426
1946	4,146	2,423	479
1947	3,950	2,094	457
1948	3,921	2,058	457
1949	4,127	2,193	675
1950	4,322	2,385	645
1951	4,376	2,616	558
1952	4,309	2,857	719
1953	4,397	2,930	882
1954	4,504	3,113	958
1955	4,484	3,269	799
1956	4,537	3,439	747
1957	4,417	3,720	900
1958	4,466	4,174	948
1959	4,684	4,412	852
1960	4,741	4,314	951
1961	4,713	4,528	1,056
1962	4,742	4,671	1,111
1963	4,860	4,691	1,102
1964	4,962	4,950	1,108
1965	5,359	5,014	1,266
1966	5,590	4,664	1,014
1967	5,586	4,239	985
1968	5,572	4,077	1,063
1969	5,688	4,006	1,116
1970	5,957	4,082	1,193
1971	6,134	4,189	1,323
1972	6,438	4,260	1,199
1973	6,970	4,261	1,108
1974	7,215	4,060	923
1975	7,168	3,683	796
1976	6,954	3,475	925
1977	7,124	3,534	939
1978	7,098	3,427	1,031
1979	7,093	3,392	1,103
1980	6,909	3,292	1,031
1981	6,744	3,402	1,021
1982	6,728	3,571	1,057
1983	6,810	3,868	1,081
1984	6,807	4,074	1,036
1985	6,819	4,487	1,004
1986	6,616	5,012	1,003
1987	6,545	5,595	999
1988	6,464	6,656	1,014
1989	6,642	7,625	1,067
1990	6,816	8,539	1,194
1991	6,912	8,888	1,304
1992	6,951	8,898	1,386
1993	6,982	8,627	1,522
1994	6,996	8,404	1,530
1995	7,034	8,331	1,550
1996	7,314	7,888	1,621
1997	7,533	8,132	1,700
1998	7,640	8,312	1,819
1999	7,387	7,925	1,787
2000	7,037	7,555	1,722
2001	7,050	7,330	1,743
2002	6,992	7,210	1,785
2003	7,000	6,849	1,726
2004	7,016	6,777	1,653
2005 ¹	6,992	6,392	1,688
2006	6,978	5,973	1,643
2007	6,891	5,522	1,588
2008	6,902	5,061	1,462
2009	6,891	4,778	1,385
2010	6,607	4,745	1,516
2011	6,493	4,830	1,549
2012	6,754	5,170	1,571
2013	6,903	5,111	1,552

¹ New series for cattle from 2005
Source: CSO and Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine

Open in Excel: 21.4 Number of cattle, sheep and pigs 1853-2013 (XLS 13KB)

Interactive table: StatBank link

The total number of cattle in the State increased gradually from 2.7 million in 1853 to 6.9 million in 1973, when Ireland joined the EEC (EU). Cattle numbers have ranged between 6.5 million and 7.6 million head since 1973.
The total number of sheep has fluctuated more widely from a low of just over 2 million in the late 1940's to a high of 8.9 million in 1992.

Livestock Slaughterings

21.5 Livestock slaughterings														'000 head
	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013
Cattle	1,885.7	1,893.4	1,781.7	1,863.4	1,814.7	1,684.9	1,773.6	1,771.1	1,665.0	1,600.4	1,716.6	1,642.9	1,483.7	1,588.8
Pigs	3,151.0	3,254.8	3,109.5	2,895.5	2,711.0	2,657.1	2,658.0	2,614.9	2,577.7	2,420.8	2,657.3	2,905.1	2,972.5	2,903.7
Sheep	4,116.6	3,902.9	3,307.5	3,159.0	3,565.4	3,613.1	3,487.9	3,263.7	2,919.1	2,730.1	2,382.9	2,411.0	2,690.7	2,874.1
Source: CSO

Open in Excel: 21.5 Livestock slaughterings (XLS 33KB)

Show Graph - 21.5 Livestock slaughterings

	Cattle	Pigs	Sheep
2000	1885700	3151000	4116600
2001	1893400	3254800	3902900
2002	1781700	3109500	3307500
2003	1863400	2895500	3159000
2004	1814700	2711000	3565400
2005	1684900	2657100	3613100
2006	1773600	2658000	3487900
2007	1771100	2614900	3263700
2008	1665000	2577700	2919100
2009	1600400	2420800	2730100
2010	1716600	2657300	2382900
2011	1642900	2905100	2411000
2012	1483700	2972500	2690748
2013	1588800	2903700	2874100

Interactive table: StatBank link

Cattle and sheep slaughtering in 2013 increased by 7.2% and 6.8%, respectively, in comparison to 2012.

Pig slaughtering decreased by 2.3%

Go to next chapter >>> Agriculture Accounts

Statistical Yearbook of Ireland 2014

Crops & Livestock

Introduction - Crops & Livestock

Area under crops and pasture in June

Area under selected crops 1853-2013

Number of livestock in June

Number of cattle, sheep and pigs 1853-2013

Livestock Slaughterings

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Why you can Trust the CSO

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