Results from the December agricultural census state that the NI breeding ewe flock stood at 927,700, representing a 3% increase year on year.

The number of ewe lambs tupped last year was back 7% on 2016 levels and the number of lambs present on-farm in December 2017 was back by 1%. DAERA state that this is caused by more lambs being finished earlier last year, compared to 2016.

Overall, total sheep numbers present on NI farms in December 2017 stood at 1.381m, which is the highest level since 2004.

Cattle

There were no major changes in total cattle numbers in the survey results with 1.623m cattle on NI farms at the end of last year.

Dairy cow numbers were up marginally to 312,500 head and suckler numbers dropped back by 2% year on year to 258,400.

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