The Northern Ireland dairy herd stood at 306,300 cows in December 2014. This led to an surge in milk production, with total farm output up to 2.2bn litres in 2014, 9.5% higher than in 2013.

This is a record high for the dairy herd in Northern Ireland. The last time it was this strong was in December 1985, when the herd stood at 304,900 cows.

The number of beef cattle in December 2014 was 254,100, representing a decrease of 2% compared with the previous year. Numbers are now 21,600 less than in December 2012.

In total there were 1.564m cattle on Northern Ireland farms, a 1% increase compared to December 2013.

Sheep and pigs

The sheep breeding stock is now at 890,300, increasing by 3% from December 2013. Ewe lambs entering the breeding flock at the end of 2014 are up by over 50% compared with the previous year.

The pig breeding herd was at 40,800 in December 2014, 1% higher than in 2013. The total herd rose by 9% to 497,100.

Hay and silage

Hay production was strong in 2014, with overall production at 157,000 tonnes, 9% higher than in 2014 and almost double that achieved in 2012.

The production of silage also increased from 2013 to over 9.8 million tonnes.

Winter crops

The area of cereal crops planted by 1 December 2014 is estimated at 16,700 hectares, a 2% fall. The area sown to winter wheat was down 7% while the area in winter barley fell by 9%. In contrast, winter oats increased to 1,400 hectares, almost 1,000 hectares more than in 2013.