September 21, 2018

Irish cattle and sheep numbers decrease in June

Cattle and sheep populations in Ireland both decreased in June, according to initial estimates.

The total number of cattle was down .2% or 15,000 to 7,348,500 head, the latest livestock survey of the Central Statistics Office (CSO) showed.

Of the number, dairy cows totalled 1,480,900, up 3.4 % or by 48,200, while other cows dropped by 3.1% or 33,100 to 1,047,900.      

The total number of cattle 2 years old and over increased 3% or by 23,700 to 811,800, while cattle under 1 year old decreased 2.5% or by 52,600 to 2,078,400 compared with last year.

On the other hand, the total number of sheep in June was 5,105,600, showing a decrease of 91,600 or 1.8% compared with June 2017.

Of the total number, the breeding sheep numbered 2,577,000, a decrease of .6% or by 16,600, while the non-breeding sheep totalled 2,528,600, a decrease of 16,600 or 0.6%.

With a human population of a little less than 4.8 million, Ireland's cattle and sheep are almost thrice the number of people.

Meanwhile, preliminary estimates for June showed that the area planted to cereals decreased by 11,600 hectares or 4.2% to 260,900 ha compared with June 2017. The area under wheat decreased by 9,100 ha or 13.6%. The area under winter barley decreased by 7,300 ha or 11.2%, while the area under oats decreased by 6,800 ha or 27.6%.

The area under spring barley, however, showed an increase of 11,800 ha or 10.2%.