| Total Cereals | Cattle | Sheep | |
| '000 hectares(ha) | |||
| '000 | '000 | ||
| June 2020 | 266.6 | 7314.4 | 5531.1 |
| June 2021 | 272.0 | 7358.9 | 5609.4 |
| % change | +2.0 | +0.6 | +1.4 |
Preliminary estimates for June 2021 show that the area under cereals increased by 5,400 hectares (ha) (+2.0%) to 272,000 ha when compared to June 2020.
The area under wheat increased by 14,400 (+30.6%) to 61,400 ha while the area under oats increased by 2,400 ha (+9.3%) to 27,800 ha. The area under barley decreased by 12,100 ha (-6.3%) to 181,100 ha.
The area under potatoes decreased by 300 (ha) (-3.5%) to 8,600 ha.
See Table 1 and Figure 2.
The total cattle numbers were up by 44,500 (+0.6%) to 7,358,900. The number of dairy cows was up by 36,800 (+2.4%) while the number of other cows dropped by 43,000 (-4.4%). The total number of cattle less than 2 years increased by 132,700 (+3.4%). In contrast, the number of cattle 2 years and over decreased by 80,300 (-10.1%). See Table 2.
The June 2021 results also show that sheep numbers increased by 78,300 (+1.4%) to 5,609,400.
| X-axis label | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Winter wheat | 59.7 | 35.4 | 55.4 |
| Spring wheat | 3.8 | 11.5 | 5.9 |
| Winter Oats | 16.6 | 8.3 | 13.7 |
| Spring Oats | 7.2 | 17.2 | 14.1 |
| Winter Barley | 82.8 | 51.5 | 66.7 |
| Spring Barley | 96.5 | 141.7 | 114.4 |
| Potatoes | 8.7 | 8.9 | 7.7 |
| Table 1 Area under Crops | |||||
| Description | June 2019 | June 2020 | June 2021 | Change 2020 - 2021 | |
| ' 000 hectares | ' 000 hectares | % | |||
| Wheat - total | 63.5 | 47.0 | 61.4 | 14.4 | 30.6 |
| Winter wheat | 59.7 | 35.4 | 55.4 | 20.0 | 56.4 |
| Spring wheat | 3.8 | 11.5 | 5.9 | -5.6 | -48.7 |
| Oats - total | 23.8 | 25.4 | 27.8 | 2.4 | 9.3 |
| Winter oats | 16.6 | 8.3 | 13.7 | 5.4 | 65.6 |
| Spring oats | 7.2 | 17.2 | 14.1 | -3.1 | -17.8 |
| Barley - total | 179.4 | 193.2 | 181.1 | -12.1 | -6.3 |
| Winter barley | 82.8 | 51.5 | 66.7 | 15.2 | 29.6 |
| Spring barley | 96.5 | 141.7 | 114.4 | -27.3 | -19.3 |
| Other cereals | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.7 | 0.8 | 77.8 |
| Total cereals | 267.7 | 266.6 | 272.0 | 5.4 | 2.0 |
| Potatoes | 8.7 | 8.9 | 8.6 | -0.3 | -3.5 |
| Table 2 Number of Cattle | |||||
| Description | June 2019 | June 2020 | June 2021 | Change 2020 - 2021 | |
| ' 000 | ' 000 | % | |||
| Total cattle | 7,208.6 | 7,314.4 | 7,358.9 | 44.5 | 0.6 |
| Dairy cows1 | 1,504.8 | 1,567.7 | 1,604.5 | 36.8 | 2.4 |
| Other cows | 999.7 | 983.3 | 940.3 | -43.0 | -4.4 |
| Bulls2 | 54.9 | 52.2 | 50.4 | -1.8 | -3.5 |
| Cattle male: 2 years and over3 | 402.7 | 409.6 | 363.6 | -46.0 | -11.2 |
| Cattle female: 2 years and over | 390.7 | 388.9 | 354.6 | -34.3 | -8.8 |
| Cattle male: 1-2 years3 | 837.5 | 789.9 | 864.3 | 74.4 | 9.4 |
| Cattle female: 1-2 years | 1,010.5 | 1,005.8 | 1,035.3 | 29.4 | 2.9 |
| Cattle male: under 1 year | 939.5 | 1,013.2 | 1,027.9 | 14.7 | 1.5 |
| Cattle female: under 1 year | 1,068.4 | 1,103.9 | 1,118.0 | 14.1 | 1.3 |
| Total cattle male | 2,234.5 | 2,264.9 | 2,306.2 | 41.4 | 1.8 |
| Total cattle female | 4,974.1 | 5,049.5 | 5,052.6 | 3.1 | 0.1 |
| 1 Dairy cows are those kept principally to produce milk for human consumption. | |||||
| 2 Bulls used for breeding purposes only. 2019 and 2020 bull figures have been revised. | |||||
| 3 Cattle male: '2 years and over' and '1-2 years' figures have been revised for 2019 and 2020. | |||||
| Table 3 Number of Sheep | |||||
| Description | June 2019 | June 2020 | June 2021 | Change 2020 - 2021 | |
| ' 000 | ' 000 | % | |||
| Total sheep | 5,145.8 | 5,531.1 | 5,609.4 | 78.3 | 1.4 |
| Breeding sheep | 2,496.5 | 2,784.9 | 2,900.4 | 115.4 | 4.1 |
| Ewes: 2 years and over | 1,981.8 | 2,070.3 | 2,173.8 | 103.5 | 5.0 |
| Ewes: under 2 years | 440.5 | 629.8 | 641.6 | 11.8 | 1.9 |
| Rams | 74.2 | 84.8 | 85.0 | 0.2 | 0.2 |
| Other sheep | 2,649.3 | 2,746.2 | 2,709.0 | -37.2 | -1.4 |
This release presents provisional estimates of land utilisation and livestock numbers in June 2021 at State level. The estimates for sheep are based on returns from the Agriculture Survey June 2021, 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) and the Irish Cattle Breeding Federation (ICBF).
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.
The results for crops are based on data obtained from the DAFM Basic Payment Scheme.
The results for cattle are obtained from DAFM’s Animal Identification and Movement (AIM) system and the Irish Cattle Breeding Federation (ICBF).
The June 2021 results for sheep are compiled by comparing the returns from the DAFM's 2020 Sheep Census to the returns from the CSO's Agriculture Survey June 2021. Trends are compared between the farms that returned both the DAFM Sheep Census and the Agriculture Survey June 2021. These trends are applied to each sheep category to calulate the final 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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