Ireland sees livestock growth

The Irish livestock sector started the year with better stock numbers. The number of cattle in Ireland increased by 1.8% to 6.6 million, the number of sheep rose by 2.9% to almost 4 million and the number of pigs rose by 2.1% to 1.7 million. 

The number of cattle aged two years and older was less compared to the same period last year and decreased by 4% (-13.8 thousand heads). However, the number of cattle aged 1-2 years was higher by 4% (68 thousand heads), and the number of livestock up to a year increased by 2.5%.

“This increase in the number of cattle is expected to lead to an increase in beef production in Ireland in 2022, especially in the second half of the year,” commented Hannah Clark, an analyst at AHDB. The number of dairy cows increased by 3.4% to 1.5 million, while the number of beef cows fell again to 890,000.

Ireland's sheep population increased by 2.1% year on year to 2.7 million HEAD. The increase was driven by an increase in the number of sheep aged two years and older, while the number of sheep under two years of age decreased markedly (-18%). The number of breeding sheep increased by 5.1% year on year to 1.2 million heads.

Non-breeding pig stock rose 2.4% year on year to 1.6 million, driven by a 13% increase in pig stock to 20 kg. The number of breeding pigs decreased by 1.3%, mainly due to a decrease in the number of brood sows.