The overall number of cattle in Ireland in June 2025 was 6,904,800 head, a fall of 3.9% to 278,300 head compared with June 2024, Central Statistics Office (CSO) data shows.
Dairy cow numbers declined by 5.7% to 36,100 head in the same period.
From June 2024 to June 2025, the number of male cattle aged two years and over was down by 10.5%, while male cattle aged one to two years fell by 5% in this period.
In June 2025, the largest number of cattle was present in the midwest region, with Cork coming in as the county with the highest number of cattle, at just over one million.
The data was published in the CSO’s final results of the crops and livestock survey for June 2025 this week.
Tillage area
The area in Ireland that was under cereals increased by 4.9% (13,000ha), reaching a total of 274,900ha in June 2025 when compared with the same month in 2024.
This increase was mainly due to an overall increase in winter cereals. Land under winter wheat (+46.9%), winter oats (+140.3%) and winter barley (+32.4%) all increased in June 2025 compared with June 2024, while areas under spring wheat (-33.4%), spring oats (-28.8%) and spring barley (-16.5%) all decreased.
The region with the largest area under cereals was the mid-east and Dublin combined region with 93,500ha, followed by the southeast with 79,700ha.
Sheep and pigs
Sheep numbers in June 2025 decreased by 1.5% to 5,098,500 total sheep in Ireland compared with June 2024, according to the CSO.
The number of pigs in Ireland was down 6.8% to 1,566,500 heads in June 2025 compared with the same month in the previous year.
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