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Crops and Livestock Survey June Final Results 2021

Total number of dairy cows increased by 36,800 (2.4%) to 1,604,500

Online ISSN: 1393-7278

CSO statistical publication, 30 March 2022, 11am

Key Findings

When compared to June 2020;
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- The total number of cattle increased by 44,300 to 7,358,900 (+0.6%) to 7,358,900.
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- Sheep numbers rose by 89,200 (+1.6%) to 5,609,400. Breeding sheep increased by 63,700 (+2.2%) to 2,900,400 while Other sheep rose by 25,500 (+0.9%) to 2,709,000.
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- Pig numbers increased by 111,700 (+7.1%) to 1,694,300. Breeding pigs increased by 1,700 (+1.1%) and Other pigs increased by 110,100 (+7.7%).
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- The area under Total cereals increased by 9,800 hectares (ha) (+3.7%) to 276,400 ha.

Statistician's Comment

The Central Statistics Office (CSO) has today (30 March 2022) released the Crops and Livestock Survey June Final 2021.

Commenting on the release, Sophie Emerson, Statistician, said:"The final results for June 2021 show that the total number of cattle increased by 44,300 (+0.6%) to 7,358,900 when compared to June 2020. The total number of dairy cows increased by 36,800 (+2.4%) while the total number of other cows decreased by 43,000 (-4.4%).

A regional analysis of the livestock numbers shows that the largest number of cattle (1,472,400) was in the Mid-West region, the largest number of sheep (1,510,800) was in the West region and the largest number of pigs (444,900) was in the Border region.

Providing further analysis of the cattle figures, Sophie Emerson said:"The total number of cattle 2 years and over has decreased by 80,400 (-10.1%) whereas the total number of cattle 1-2 years has increased by 103,800 (+5.8%).

Regarding the three main cereals, the areas under winter wheat, winter oats and winter barley have increased by 20,800 ha (+58.7%), 5,600 ha (+68.1%) and 16,100 ha (+31.2%) respectively. The areas under spring cereals have decreased compared to June 2020.

Winter and spring cereal categories saw a significant change from June 2019 to June 2020. The June 2021 area figures for these categories more closely resemble areas recorded in June 2019."

Figure 1 previously displayed incorrect data for Total pigs, Total sheep and Total cattle in 2020 which arose from human error. Updated on 14/07/2022.

X-axis label	Potatoes	Winter wheat	Spring wheat	Winter oats	Spring oats	Winter barley	Spring barley
% Change	0.5	58.7	-47.4	68.1	-15.7	31.2	-17.9

Table 1 Area under crops and pasture

Table 2 Number of Livestock

Table 3 Area under Crops and Pasture in each Region, June 2021

Table 3 Area under Crops and Pasture in each Region, June 2021											' 000 ha
Region	Northern and Western			Southern				Eastern and Midland			State
	Border	West	Total	Mid-West	South-East	South-West	Total	Mid-East & Dublin	Midland	Total
	Border	West	Total	Mid-West	South-East	South-West	Total	Mid-East & Dublin	Midland	Total
Wheat - total	0.6	0.2	0.8	3.2	12.9	5.2	21.4	35.4	4.7	40.1	62.3
Winter wheat	0.4	0.1	0.6	3.1	11.3	4.0	18.4	32.9	4.4	37.3	56.2
Spring wheat	0.2	0.0	0.2	0.2	1.6	1.2	3.0	2.5	0.3	2.8	6.1

Oats - total	0.7	1.0	1.7	3.1	9.0	2.8	14.9	9.3	2.6	11.9	28.4
Winter oats	0.2	0.2	0.4	1.7	4.3	0.9	6.9	5.3	1.3	6.6	13.9
Spring oats	0.5	0.8	1.3	1.4	4.6	2.0	8.0	4.0	1.3	5.2	14.5

Barley - total	3.7	2.8	6.5	15.0	58.8	31.2	104.9	50.2	22.3	72.5	183.9
Winter barley	1.4	0.9	2.3	7.5	14.3	10.9	32.7	24.2	8.4	32.6	67.5
Spring barley	2.3	1.9	4.2	7.5	44.4	20.3	72.2	26.0	13.9	40.0	116.4

Other cereals	0.1	0.0	0.1	0.4	0.6	0.1	1.0	0.4	0.3	0.7	1.8

Total cereals	5.0	4.0	9.0	21.7	81.2	39.3	142.2	95.4	29.8	125.2	276.4

Beans and peas	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.6	3.2	1.3	5.0	3.8	0.9	4.7	9.7
Oilseed rape	0.0	0.0	0.1	0.6	2.6	0.3	3.6	6.5	1.2	7.6	11.3
Arable silage	0.1	0.1	0.1	0.1	0.2	0.2	0.4	0.1	0.2	0.3	0.8
Maize silage	0.2	0.1	0.2	1.0	4.6	3.5	9.1	3.9	1.2	5.1	14.4
Fodder rape and kale	0.0	0.2	0.3	0.1	0.2	0.1	0.4	0.3	0.2	0.5	1.2
Potatoes	0.9	0.1	0.9	0.2	1.9	0.8	3.0	4.8	0.2	5.0	8.9
Turnips	0.0	0.0	0.1	0.0	0.2	0.1	0.3	0.3	0.1	0.4	0.7
Beet ¹	0.0	0.2	0.3	0.7	3.1	2.3	6.1	1.4	1.5	2.9	9.2
Vegetables for sale	0.1	0.1	0.2	0.0	0.7	0.3	1.0	2.2	0.2	2.4	3.7
Fruit	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.1	0.3	0.0	0.4	0.4	0.0	0.4	0.8
Nurseries, horticulture etc.	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.2	0.1	0.4	0.1	0.0	0.1	0.5
Other crops ²	2.6	4.9	7.6	2.2	4.4	2.7	9.3	4.3	3.6	8.0	24.8

Crops, fruit and horticulture	9.0	9.8	18.7	27.4	102.9	50.9	181.2	123.5	39.1	162.6	362.6

Silage ³	174.3	219.2	393.5	224.0	148.4	225.1	597.5	103.8	121.7	225.6	1,216.6
Hay ³	12.4	21.1	33.6	26.7	15.5	11.9	54.0	20.0	17.2	37.2	124.8
Pasture ³	345.6	401.9	747.6	381.5	238.4	378.6	998.6	207.9	232.0	439.9	2,186.1

Crops and pasture ³	541.3	652.0	1,193.4	659.6	505.2	666.5	1,831.4	455.3	410.0	865.3	3,890.0

Rough grazing in use ³	127.4	111.6	239.0	35.9	10.0	123.4	169.3	18.1	21.1	39.1	447.4

Area farmed ³	668.7	763.6	1,432.4	695.5	515.3	789.9	2,000.6	473.4	431.0	904.4	4,337.4
¹Includes sugar beet and fodder beet.
² Includes other crops not specified elsewhere in the table, miscanthus, fallow land & wild bird cover account for over 80% of this area. See Background Notes.
³ The area under grassland may be subject to revision.

Open in Excel: Crops and Livestock June Final 2021 Table 3 (XLS 39KB)

Table 4 Number of Cattle in each Region and County, June 2021

Table 4 Number of Cattle in each Region and County, June 2021												' 000
Region and County	Total	Dairy	Other	Bulls ²	Cattle	Cattle	Cattle	Cattle	Cattle	Cattle	Total Cattle	Total Cattle
Region and County	Cattle	Cows ¹	Cows		Male 2+	Female 2+	Male 1-2	Female 1-2	Male <1	Female < 1	Male	Female
State	7358.9	1604.5	940.3	50.4	363.6	354.6	864.3	1035.3	1027.9	1118.0	2306.2	5052.6

Northern and Western	1767.4	181.3	381.2	16.1	79.0	112.6	209.0	254.0	263.3	270.8	567.4	1200.0
Border	814.9	111.8	162.1	7.4	27.4	47.8	92.8	116.5	121.7	127.4	249.4	565.6
Cavan	231.5	40.0	40.6	2.1	7.5	12.9	24.1	34.9	32.8	36.6	66.5	165.0
Donegal	186.6	22.2	38.8	1.9	5.1	10.2	25.1	24.9	30.4	28.1	62.4	124.2
Leitrim	65.9	1.9	23.4	0.9	1.0	4.2	3.7	8.4	10.8	11.5	16.4	49.5
Monaghan	217.5	39.3	29.8	1.6	10.0	12.7	28.6	32.1	30.5	32.9	70.7	146.8
Sligo	113.4	8.3	29.5	1.0	3.7	7.9	11.4	16.2	17.2	18.3	33.3	80.1

West	952.4	69.6	219.2	8.7	51.6	64.8	116.2	137.5	141.6	143.4	318.0	634.4
Galway	453.6	40.9	95.7	3.9	25.9	29.8	56.8	65.0	68.1	67.6	154.6	299.0
Mayo	282.0	19.2	71.9	2.7	12.6	19.2	30.5	39.6	41.9	44.4	87.7	194.3
Roscommon	216.9	9.4	51.5	2.1	13.1	15.9	28.9	32.8	31.6	31.5	75.8	141.1

Southern	3996.8	1149.5	357.2	24.9	179.8	141.4	443.5	535.3	547.5	617.8	1195.7	2801.2
Mid-West	1472.4	347.1	155.1	9.5	85.4	60.1	182.3	195.0	218.0	219.9	495.2	977.2
Clare	296.8	35.0	70.0	3.1	14.6	14.5	33.2	33.9	46.2	46.3	97.1	199.7
Limerick	456.5	124.8	34.5	2.8	27.2	19.5	53.7	60.9	65.7	67.5	149.3	307.2
Tipperary	719.0	187.3	50.6	3.7	43.6	26.1	95.4	100.2	106.1	106.2	248.8	470.2

South-East	1059.5	301.8	87.8	6.0	45.1	35.6	128.5	149.8	141.9	162.9	321.6	738.0
Carlow	106.3	19.1	14.1	0.7	4.9	5.2	14.5	16.0	15.6	16.3	35.6	70.7
Kilkenny	375.3	103.1	28.6	2.0	18.3	11.0	49.6	52.8	52.7	57.2	122.6	252.7
Waterford	271.8	92.6	17.6	1.5	12.2	8.5	27.7	37.0	33.0	41.9	74.3	197.5
Wexford	306.1	87.1	27.5	1.7	9.8	10.9	36.8	44.0	40.7	47.6	89.0	217.1

South-West	1464.9	500.5	114.3	9.5	49.3	45.7	132.7	190.5	187.5	234.9	378.9	1086.0
Cork	1113.0	397.0	69.1	6.8	38.7	31.6	106.0	145.9	140.8	177.1	292.3	820.7
Kerry	351.9	103.5	45.3	2.6	10.6	14.1	26.6	44.6	46.7	57.8	86.6	265.3

Eastern and Midland	1594.7	273.7	201.9	9.4	104.9	100.5	211.8	246.0	217.1	229.4	543.2	1051.5
Mid-East and Dublin	719.2	139.0	84.0	3.8	52.4	48.3	91.3	109.0	89.8	101.5	237.3	481.8
Dublin	24.2	2.9	3.4	0.1	1.4	3.3	2.5	4.5	3.0	3.1	7.1	17.1
Kildare	144.4	21.5	17.1	0.9	14.2	9.2	21.9	22.2	18.2	19.2	55.2	89.2
Louth	93.1	19.5	10.7	0.5	7.0	8.4	9.9	13.7	10.3	13.1	27.7	65.4
Meath	330.5	68.8	33.3	1.4	25.5	21.9	43.8	50.1	40.4	45.3	111.2	219.3
Wicklow	126.9	26.3	19.6	0.9	4.3	5.7	13.1	18.5	17.9	20.7	36.2	90.8

Midland	875.5	134.7	117.8	5.6	52.5	52.2	120.6	137.0	127.3	127.9	305.9	569.6
Laois	261.2	52.2	28.9	1.7	14.9	11.1	38.3	38.1	37.7	38.4	92.6	168.6
Longford	120.3	12.0	24.4	1.1	6.8	8.1	15.6	17.0	17.6	17.6	41.2	79.1
Offaly	257.0	37.8	28.2	1.3	15.5	15.7	37.6	43.0	40.4	37.4	94.9	162.1
Westmeath	237.0	32.7	36.3	1.5	15.2	17.4	29.2	38.9	31.5	34.5	77.2	159.8
¹Dairy cows are those kept principally to produce milk for human consumption.
²Bulls used for breeding purposes only.

Open in Excel: Crops and Livestock June Final 2021 Table 4 (XLS 39KB)

Table 5 Number of Sheep, Pigs and Other Livestock in each Region, June 2021

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Table 2 Number of Livestock
Description	June 2019	June 2020	June 2021	Change 2020 - 2021
	June 2019	June 2020	June 2021	Change 2020 - 2021
	' 000			' 000	%
	' 000			' 000	%
Total cattle	7208.6	7314.5	7358.9	44.3	0.6
Dairy cows 1	1504.8	1567.7	1604.5	36.8	2.4
Other cows	999.7	983.3	940.3	-43.0	-4.4
Bulls 2	54.9	52.2	50.4	-1.8	-3.5
Cattle male: 2 years and over	402.7	409.6	363.6	-46.0	-11.2
Cattle female: 2 years and over	390.7	389.0	354.6	-34.4	-8.8
Cattle male: 1-2 years	837.5	789.9	864.3	74.4	9.4
Cattle female: 1-2 years	1010.5	1005.9	1035.3	29.4	2.9
Cattle male: under 1 year	939.5	1013.2	1027.9	14.7	1.5
Cattle female: under 1 year	1068.4	1103.9	1118.0	14.1	1.3

Total cattle male	2234.5	2264.9	2306.2	41.4	1.8
Total cattle female	4974.1	5049.7	5052.6	3.0	0.1

Total sheep	5145.8	5520.2	5609.4	89.2	1.6
Breeding sheep	2496.5	2836.7	2900.4	63.7	2.2
Ewes: 2 years and over	1981.8	2115.2	2173.8	58.6	2.8
Ewes: under 2 years	440.5	637.9	641.6	3.7	0.6
Rams	74.2	83.6	85.0	1.4	1.6
Other sheep	2649.3	2683.5	2709.0	25.5	0.9

Total pigs	1616.0	1582.5	1694.3	111.7	7.1
Breeding pigs	143.3	150.2	151.9	1.7	1.1
Female breeding pigs	142.3	149.2	150.7	1.5	1.0
Boars	1.1	1.0	1.2	0.1	11.1
Other pigs	1472.7	1432.3	1542.4	110.1	7.7
20kg and over	1020.7	975.1	1082.9	107.9	11.1
Less than 20kg	452.0	457.3	459.4	2.2	0.5

Horses and ponies 3	82.0	88.3	82.9	-5.4	-6.1

Mules, jennets and asses	9.8	10.0	10.0	0.0	0.3

Goats 4	8.7	8.8	9.4	0.6	7.2
¹Dairy cows are those kept principally to produce milk for human consumption.
²Bulls used for breeding purposes only.
³ Horses and Ponies are those kept on agricultural holdings only.
⁴ Source DAFM. See Background Notes.

Table 5 Number of Sheep, Pigs and Other Livestock in each Region, June 2021											' 000
Region	Northern and Western			Southern				Eastern and Midland			State
Region	Border	West	Total	Mid-West	South-East	South-West	Total	Mid-East & Dublin	Midland	Total	State
Total sheep	1345.7	1510.8	2856.5	240.8	573.1	690.9	1504.8	873.8	374.3	1248.1	5609.4
Breeding sheep	707.2	794.4	1501.6	121.8	275.3	403.3	800.4	424.4	174	598.4	2900.4
Ewes: 2 years and over	530.6	593.3	1123.9	93.7	204.8	315.3	613.7	307.9	128.3	436.2	2173.8
Ewes: under 2 years	155.1	178.5	333.6	23.6	62.2	78.3	164.1	103.8	40.1	143.9	641.6
Rams	21.6	22.5	44.1	4.5	8.3	9.7	22.6	12.7	5.6	18.3	85
Other sheep	638.5	716.4	1354.9	119	297.8	287.6	704.4	449.4	200.3	649.7	2709

Total pigs	444.9	173.9	618.9	303.9	294.6	35.4	633.9	255.1	186.4	441.5	1694.3
Breeding pigs	45	16.1	61.1	24	25.7	2.7	52.4	20.2	18.3	38.4	151.9
Female breeding pigs	44.9	16	60.9	23.5	25.4	2.7	51.5	20.1	18.2	38.3	150.7
Boars	0.1	0.1	0.2	0.6	0.3	0	0.9	0.1	0	0.1	1.2
Other pigs	400	157.9	557.8	279.8	268.9	32.8	581.5	235	168.1	403.1	1542.4
20kg and over	271.1	114.3	385.5	199	181	23.6	403.6	179.5	114.3	293.9	1082.9
Less than 20kg	128.8	43.5	172.3	80.8	88	9.1	177.9	55.4	53.8	109.2	459.4

Horses and ponies ¹	8.5	15.9	24.3	16.1	13.2	10	39.3	10.7	8.6	19.3	82.9

Mules, jennets and asses	1.9	3.5	5.4	1.4	0.4	1.6	3.5	0.6	0.5	1.1	10

Goats ²	2.2	1.2	3.3	1.9	0.7	1.3	3.9	1.4	0.8	2.2	9.4
¹ Horses and Ponies are those kept on agricultural holdings only.
² Source DAFM. See Background notes.

Crops and Livestock Survey June Final Results 2021