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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 2016

   Total Cereals  Cattle   Sheep
     '000 hectares(ha)  
     '000      '000
June 2015292.46,963.55,138.7
June 2016277.67,221.25,175.8
% change-5.1+3.7+0.7

Area under cereals down 5.1% in June 2016

Figure 1 Percentage change in selected items, June 2015/2016
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Preliminary estimates for June 2016 show that the area under cereals decreased by 14,800 hectares (-5.1%) to 277,600 ha. The area under spring cereals (wheat, oats and barley) decreased by 24,900 ha (-16.0%), including a drop of 20,000 ha (-15.1%) in the area under spring barley. The area under winter cereals showed an increase of 10,200 ha (+7.5%) in the same period. There was an increase of 2.8% in the area under potatoes. See Table 1 and Figure 2.

The total number of cattle was 7,221,200, an increase 257,700 (+3.7%) on June 2015. The number of Dairy Cows increased by 102,100 (+7.9%) and Cattle 1-2 years increased by 148,200 (+8.7%). Cattle 2 years and over (excluding cows and bulls) decreased by 92,600 (-11.5%). See Table 2 and Figure 3.

The June 2016 results also show that:

  • Total sheep numbers were up by 37,100 (+0.7%) to 5,175,800. See Table 3.
  • Breeding sheep were up 0.8% and non-breeding sheep up 0.7%. See Table 3.
X-axis label201420152016
Winter wheat65.155.359.6
Spring wheat6.510.17.5
Winter Oats10.111.413.1
Spring Oats8.512.19.8
Winter Barley60.169.873.8
Spring Barley155.6133113
Potatoes9.58.58.8
X-axis labelDairy Cows
20101070.8
20111116.9
20121140.8
20131163.2
20141226.4
20151295.8
20161397.9
Table 1 Area under Crops
DescriptionJune 2014June 2015June 2016   Change 2015 - 2016
' 000 hectares' 000 hectares%
Wheat - total71.665.367.11.82.7
   Winter wheat65.155.359.64.47.9
   Spring wheat6.510.17.5-2.6-26.0
      
Oats - total18.623.423.0-0.5-2.0
   Winter oats10.111.413.11.815.6
   Spring oats8.512.19.8-2.2-18.6
      
Barley - total215.7202.8186.8-16.0-7.9
   Winter barley60.169.873.84.05.7
   Spring barley155.6133.0113.0-20.0-15.1
      
Other cereals0.80.90.8-0.1-10.1
      
Total cereals306.7292.4277.6-14.8-5.1
      
Potatoes9.58.58.80.22.8
Table 2 Number of Cattle
DescriptionJune 2014June 2015June 2016   Change 2015 - 2016
' 000 ' 000 %
Total cattle6,926.16,963.57,221.2257.73.7
      
      Dairy cows11,226.41,295.81,397.9102.17.9
      Other cows1,129.01,075.81,103.727.82.6
      
      Bulls240.836.525.0-11.5-31.4
      
      Cattle male: 2 years and over455.9423.8391.1-32.7-7.7
      Cattle female: 2 years and over428.4384.4324.4-60.0-15.6
      
      Cattle male: 1-2 years820.5789.6872.783.210.5
      Cattle female: 1-2 years946.7915.5980.565.07.1
      
      Cattle male: under 1 year901.6994.41,045.651.25.1
      Cattle female: under 1 year976.81,047.81,080.332.43.1
      
   Total cattle male2,218.82,244.22,334.590.34.0
   Total cattle female 4,707.34,719.34,886.7167.43.5
      
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 2014June 2015June 2016   Change 2015 - 2016
' 000 ' 000 %
Total sheep5,096.85,138.75,175.837.10.7
      
   Breeding sheep2,591.32,563.92,583.619.70.8
      
      Ewes: 2 years and over2,060.32,033.12,025.5-7.6-0.4
      Ewes: under 2 years453.6454.9480.425.55.6
      
      Rams77.575.877.61.92.4
      
   Other sheep2,505.42,574.92,592.317.40.7

Background Notes

 

Introduction 

This release presents provisional estimates of land utilisation and livestock numbers in June 2016 at State level. The estimates for sheep are based on returns from the 2016 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 2016 results for sheep are based on the trends obtained by comparing the returns from the 2016 sample with the 2016 returns for the same 6,300 farms and applying these trends to the June 2015 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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