Press Statement

Preasráiteas

09 December 2021

Go to release: Census of Agriculture 2020 - Preliminary Results

The Central Statistics Office (CSO) has today (09 December 2021) launched the preliminary results of the 2020 Census of Agriculture. The Census presents a comprehensive picture of agricultural activity in Ireland.

Commenting on the results, Cathal Doherty, Statistician, said: “The Census of Agriculture provides a snapshot of the agricultural activity on Irish farms in 2020. This census of farming is taken every 10 years and it includes statistics on farm structure, farmer demographics, livestock and land utilisation on farms.

There were 135,037 farms in 2020, a 3.4% reduction on the last Census of Agriculture in 2010, while the average farm size has increased by 0.7 hectares (or 2.2%) in 2020.

Of the 135,037 farms, 42% were in the Northern and Western region with an average farm size of 25.8 hectares, 40% were in the Southern region with an average farm size of 38.8 hectares and 18% were in the Eastern and Midland region with an average of 39.4 hectares.

Specialist Dairying farms were 9.8 hectares larger (or 17.7%) and Specialist Tillage farms were 7.6 hectares larger (or 13.6%) on average than in 2010.

Specialist Sheep farms were 1.9 hectares smaller (or 6.2%) and Specialist Beef Production farms were 0.8 hectares smaller (or 2.9%) on average than in 2010.

In 33% of farms, the holder was aged 65 or older in 2020 and there were 7,496 more farm holders aged 65 or older than in 2010. In 7% of farms, the holder was aged under 35 in 2020, there were 655 more farm holders aged under 35 than in 2010.

The share of female farm holders has increased by 1% since 2010 with 18,101 (or 13.4%) female farm holders in 2020.”

Highlights for Editors:

Farm Structure

• There were 135,037 farms in Ireland in 2020 with an average farm size of 33.4 hectares
• The total number of farms was 4,823 (or 3.4%) lower than in the last Census of Agriculture in 2010 while the average farm size of farms has increased by 0.7 hectares (or 2.2%)
• Of the 135,037 farms, 42% were in the Northern and Western region with an average farm size of 25.8 hectares, 40% were in the Southern region with an average farm size of 38.8 hectares and 18% were in the Eastern and Midland region with an average of 39.4 hectares

Farmer Demographics

• In 33% of farms the holder was aged 65 or older while in 7% of farms the holder was under the age of 35, this is 655 more than in 2010
• The percentage of female farm holders has increased by 1% since 2010 with 18,101 (or 13.4%) female farm holders in 2020

Land Utilisation

• There were more than 4.93 million hectares of Agricultural Area Used (AAU) in 2020. Almost 4.15 million of this was grassland including 0.45 million hectares of rough grazing

Livestock

• In 2020, there were 7.3 million cattle (up 10.7% on 2010), 5.5 million sheep (up 16.3% on 2010), 1.6 million pigs (up 4.4% on 2010) and almost 16.5 million poultry (up 50.8% on 2010)

Specialist Beef Production

• Specialist Beef Production was the most common type of farming in Ireland, with 74,159 farms engaged in this activity
• These farms were typically smaller (median of 21 hectares) and close to 46% were in the Northern and Western region
• The age of farm holders on Specialist Beef Production farms was typically older (mean age of 58) than other farming systems (mean age of all other farm holders is 56)

Specialist Sheep

• Just less than two-thirds (64.2%) of the 17,435 Specialist Sheep farms in 2020 were in the Northern and Western region
• These were typically smaller (median of 17 hectares) and the farm holders were typically younger (mean age of 56) than Specialist Beef Production farm holders

Specialist Dairying

• There were 15,319 Specialist Dairying farms and these farms were typically large (median of 55 hectares)
• Seven out of every ten (71.6%) Specialist Dairying farms were in the Southern region
• Specialist Dairying farms typically have younger farm holders (mean age of 52 years old) than all other farming systems

Specialist Tillage

• A large majority (95.6%) of the 4,567 Specialist Tillage farms in 2020 were in the Southern, Eastern and Midland regions
• Typically, these were larger farms and Specialist Tillage farms have a median size of 42 hectares
• The age of farm holders on Specialist Tillage farms was similar (mean age of 57) to that of all farms in the State

Other Farm Systems

• There were 8,508 Mixed Grazing Livestock, 1,759 Mixed Crops and Livestock, 11,516 Mixed Field Crops and 1,774 Other farms in 2020
• Farm holdings classified as Mixed Field Crops are typically the smallest in Ireland (median of 9 hectares) and have the oldest farm holders in the state (mean of 60)

Cathal Doherty continued: “The CSO would like to extend its appreciation to farmers for responding to this Census and other Agricultural Surveys.

A final publication on the results of the 2020 Census of Agriculture will follow in 2022, this publication will provide further breakdowns, more detailed regional information, results on the farm labour force and on manure management on farms.”

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