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For more information on this release:
E-mail: agri@cso.ie Gerard Reilly (+353) 21 453 5700 Angela Hickey (+353) 21 453 5316
For general information on CSO statistics:
information@cso.ie (+353) 21 453 5000 On-line ISSN 1393-7278
CSO statistical release, , 11am

Crops and Livestock Survey June Provisional Estimates

June 2017

   Total Cereals  Cattle   Sheep
     '000 hectares(ha)  
     '000      '000
June 2016281.17,221.25,179.2
June 2017272.27,363.55,252.9
% change-3.2+2.0+1.4

Area under cereals down 3.2% in June 2017

Figure 1  Percentage change in selected items, June 2016/2017
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Preliminary estimates for June 2017 show that the area under cereals decreased by 8,900 hectares (-3.2%) to 272,200 ha. This was principally due to a decrease of 9,700 ha (-12.9%) in the area under winter barley and a decrease of 900 ha (-1.3%) in the area under wheat. See Table 1 and Figure 2.

The total number of cattle was 7,363,500, an increase 142,300 (+2.0%) on June 2016. The number of Cattle 2 years and over (excluding cows and bulls) increased by 72,600 (+10.1%), Cattle 1-2 years increased by 60,700 (+3.3%) and Dairy Cows increased by 34,800 (+2.5%). See Table 2.

The June 2017 results also show that:

  • Total sheep numbers were up by 73,700 (+1.4%) to 5,252,900. See Table 3.
  • Non-breeding sheep were up 2.5% and breeding sheep up 0.3%. See Table 3.
X-axis label201520162017
Winter wheat55.360.460.3
Spring wheat10.17.56.7
Winter Oats11.413.214.4
Spring Oats12.11010
Winter Barley69.874.665
Spring Barley133114.6115
Potatoes8.599.1
Table 1 Area under Crops
DescriptionJune 2015June 2016June 2017   Change 2016 - 2017
' 000 hectares' 000 hectares%
Wheat - total65.367.967.0-0.9-1.3
   Winter wheat55.360.460.3-0.1-0.2
   Spring wheat10.17.56.7-0.8-10.7
      
Oats - total23.423.224.41.25.2
   Winter oats11.413.214.41.28.9
   Spring oats12.110.010.00.00.3
      
Barley - total202.8189.2180.0-9.2-4.9
   Winter barley69.874.665.0-9.7-12.9
   Spring barley133.0114.6115.00.40.4
      
Other cereals0.90.80.80.0-2.8
      
Total cereals292.4281.1272.2-8.9-3.2
      
Potatoes8.59.09.10.00.3
Table 2 Number of Cattle
DescriptionJune 2015June 2016June 2017   Change 2016 - 2017
' 000 ' 000 %
Total cattle6,963.57,221.27,363.5142.32.0
      
      Dairy cows11,295.81,397.91,432.734.82.5
      Other cows1,075.81,103.71,081.0-22.7-2.1
      
      Bulls236.525.016.9-8.1-32.4
      
      Cattle male: 2 years and over423.8391.1431.740.610.4
      Cattle female: 2 years and over384.4324.4356.431.99.8
      
      Cattle male: 1-2 years789.6872.7902.329.63.4
      Cattle female: 1-2 years915.5980.51,011.631.13.2
      
      Cattle male: under 1 year994.41,045.61,033.5-12.1-1.2
      Cattle female: under 1 year1,047.81,080.31,097.417.11.6
      
   Total cattle male2,244.22,334.52,384.550.02.1
   Total cattle female 4,719.34,886.74,979.092.31.9
1 Dairy cows are those kept principally to produce milk for human consumption.
2 Bulls used for breeding purposes only.
Table 3 Number of Sheep
DescriptionJune 2015June 2016June 2017   Change 2016 - 2017
' 000 ' 000 %
Total sheep5,138.75,179.25,252.973.71.4
      
   Breeding sheep2,563.92,582.82,591.58.70.3
      
      Ewes: 2 years and over2,033.12,025.12,029.74.60.2
      Ewes: under 2 years454.9479.9483.43.50.7
      
      Rams75.877.878.40.60.8
      
   Other sheep2,574.92,596.42,661.465.02.5

Background Notes

 

Introduction 

This release presents provisional estimates of land utilisation and livestock numbers in June 2017 at State level. The estimates for sheep are based on returns from the 2017 June sample survey of agricultural holdings, conducted by the Central Statistics Office (CSO). The estimates for cattle and for crops are obtained from administrative data from the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM).

Coverage  Farms where the agricultural area used was at least one hectare (2.47 acres) are included in the June Agricultural Sample Survey. Farms with less than one hectare may also be included if they were engaged in intensive production. 

Results        

Crops  The results for crops are based on data obtained from the DAFM Basic Payment Scheme.

Cattle  The results for cattle are obtained from DAFM’s Animal Identification and Movement (AIM) system, formerly known as the Cattle Movement Monitoring System (CMMS). This system was introduced at the beginning of 2000 and involves electronically recording data on animal movements.

Sheep  The June 2017 results for sheep are based on the trends obtained by comparing the returns from the 2017 sample with the 2016 returns for the same 8,600 farms and applying these trends to the June 2016 figures.

As the figures in the text and tables have been rounded to the nearest 100 units, there may be slight discrepancies between the sum (or difference) of the constituent items and the total shown. Percentage changes have been calculated on actual figures.

 

 

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