The results of the December 2021 Livestock Survey show that pig numbers increased by 2.1% to 1,713,600. Breeding pigs decreased by 1.3% and non-breeding pigs increased by 2.4%. See Table 2.

The provisional estimate for the total number of sheep was 3,991,200, an increase of 114,000 (+2.9%) on December 2020. The number of breeding sheep increased by 55,300 (+2.0%) and other sheep increased by 58,700 (+5.1%). See Table 3.

The total number of cattle increased by 119,900 (+1.8%) to 6,649,300. The number of dairy cows increased by 49,200 (+3.4%) while other cows decreased by 33,000 (-3.6%). The total number of cattle 1-2 years increased by 67,900 (+4.0%) while cattle 2 years and over (excluding cows and bulls) decreased by 13,900 (-4.0%). See Table 1.