DAFM: 62% of Irish herds have less than 50 cattle
Approximately 62% of Irish cattle herds have less than 50 cattle, according to the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine's (DAFM's) Animal Identification and Movement System (AIMS) Bovine Statistics Report for 2024.
The report details that as of December 31, 2024, there were a total of 94,165 cattle herds in Ireland, with an average herd size of 65.5 cattle.
There were a total of 6,167,200 cattle in Ireland on this date.
Unsurprisingly, Cork is the county with the most cattle in Ireland, with 914,325 head of cattle on December 31, 2024, followed by Co. Tipperary with 581,588 cattle in the premier county on that date.
Key Irish herd size statistics as of December 31, 2024:
37,539 herds had fewer than 25 cattle;
20,651 herds had between 25 and 49 cattle;
10,842 herds had between 50 and 74 cattle;
6,774 herds had between 75 and 99 cattle;
7,817 herds had between 100 and 149 cattle;
10,542 herds had over 150 cattle.
Waterford is the county with the largest average herd size at 125.1 cattle, followed by Kilkenny, Tipperary, and Wexford at 124.6, 104.7, and 104.2 respectively.
The table below outlines a profile of the Irish herd size by county as of December 31, 2024:
County Cattle Herds Average herd size Carlow 94,385 1,086 86.9 Cavan 214,527 4,166 51.5 Clare 241,153 5,292 45.6 Cork 914,325 9,744 93.8 Donegal 172,754 4,524 38.2 Dublin 17,847 287 62.2 Galway 383,983 9,437 40.7 Kerry 289,408 5,362 54 Kildare 120,292 1,478 81.4 Kilkenny 317,355 2,547 124.6 Laois 227,916 2,379 95.8 Leitrim 61,983 2,506 24.7 Limerick 356,585 4,440 80.3 Longford 104,139 2,052 50.8 Louth 82,590 980 84.3 Mayo 231,942 7,488 31 Meath 263,928 2,953 89.4 Monaghan 202,403 3,673 55.1 Offaly 221,192 2,587 85.5 Roscommon 178,641 4,537 39.4 Sligo 95,076 2,839 33.5 Tipperary 581,588 5,556 104.7 Waterford 223,015 1,783 125.1 Westmeath 190,501 2,583 73.8 Wexford 269,066 2,583 104.2 Wicklow 110,606 1,303 84.9 Total: 6,167,200 94,165 65.5 Source: DAFM 2024 AIMS report
Co. Galway has the highest number of herds below 25 cattle at 4,603 herds, while Co. Cork has the highest number of herds above 150 cattle at 1,960 herds.
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