Ireland and the EU at 50

Livestock and Area Under Selected Crops 1850 - 2022

This chapter contains information on Livestock numbers and Area Under Crops in Ireland for the period 1850 to 2022. The statistics are drawn from CSO surveys (including a joint survey conducted by Teagasc and the CSO) and administrative data from the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) and the Irish Cattle Breeding Federation (ICBF).

Area Under Selected Crops 1850 - 2022

There is a long-term decline in the area of wheat, oats, and potatoes sown during the time period from 1849 to 2022. The area sown of wheat reached its peak in 1945 at 268,000 hectares and the area under oats reached its peak in 1852 at 672,000 hectares. Barley declined in the late 1880s and early 1900s to a low of 30,000 hectares in 1939 before climbing again to a peak of 366,000 hectares in 1980.

In 1973 the area sown for wheat, oats, and barley stood at 58,000 hectares, 50,000, and 243,000 hectares respectively while in 2022 the area sown for wheat, oats, and barley stood at 67,200 hectares, 28,200 hectares, and 190,000 hectares, respectively.

The area of potatoes sown reached its highest value in 1859 at 374,000 hectares. From then onwards the area of potatoes sown has continued to decline, with the exception of the war years. In 1973 the area of potatoes sown was 48,000 hectares while in 2022 the area of potatoes sown was 8,500 hectares.

Number of Livestock 1850 - 2022

Since 1850, the number of Cattle has increased, peaking at 7.6 million in 1998. Cattle numbers were 7.1 million in 1973 and stood at 7.4 million in 2022.

The number of Sheep in Ireland stood at 4.2 million in 1973 peaking at 8.9 million in 1992 and since then numbers have fallen sharply to just under 6 million in 2022.

The number of Pigs in 1850 stood at 0.75 million while in 1973 there were 1.1 million and peaked in 1998 at 1.8 million. Pig numbers were 1.6 million in 2022.

Fish Landings

There have been notable changes in Irish fish landings over the period, particularly as some species declined.  In 1973 Irish vessels landed  4,556 tonnes of cod in Irish ports.  By 2022 this figure had fallen to 466 tonnes. In contrast, Irish landings of mackerel in Irish ports was at 8,314 tonnes in 1973, while  in 2022 they were at 46,131 tonnes.

Note: 1973 tonnages are landed weight, while 2022 tonnages are in live weight equivalent. The landed weight may differ from the weight of the fish as it was taken from the sea due to the processing of the catch on board the vessel (e.g. gutting, filleting, etc.). Cod: Information of specific cod species for 1973 tonnage is not available; 2022 tonnage is for Atlantic Cod. Mackerel: 1973 tonnage includes all mackerel species landed; 2022 tonnage includes Atlantic Mackerel only.

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