The latest results of the December agricultural survey published by DAERA, put the number of suckler cows in NI at 245,100, a 5% reduction on the 2017 figure and the lowest number recorded in NI since 1988.

Numbers locally peaked at over 330,000 in the late 1990s, as farmers responded to EU financial support targeted at the beef sector, such as suckler cow premium, beef special premium and extensification payments.In the early 2000s this was worth over £470/cow and calf unit.

However in 2005 that link to production was broken, with the move to area-based payment schemes. Since then numbers have gradually declined, although the reduction between 2017 and 2018 is one of the largest seen in recent years.

That could partly be in response to the end of areas of natural constraint (ANC) payments in the severely disadvantaged area (SDA). The scheme came with a minimum stocking rate of 0.2 livestock units per hectare. With the scheme now gone (the last payments were made in March 2018), there is now no requirement for farmers in the SDA to retain livestock, other than keeping land eligible for Basic Payment Scheme payments.

Total cattle

The survey also shows that dairy cow numbers are down, falling 1% to 309,000. While that is below the historic peak of 313,633 seen in 2015, it is still well above the long-term average of around the 290,000 mark.

Total cattle numbers in December 2018 were down 3% on the previous year. However, outside of suckler cow numbers, the main reductions are in cattle under one year old, suggesting it will be the second half of 2019 before numbers going through local meat plants start to tighten.

Sheep

In the sheep sector, the poor spring of 2018 had a negative impact, with breeding sheep numbers down 5% to 886,000. It brings to an end a recent trend of increasing sheep numbers, and is the lowest breeding flock since 2013.

A similar trend can be seen in the pig herd, where numbers had been rising since 2012. However, the results from December 2018 put the number of breeding pigs at 44,100, down 7% from the 2017 figure.

Weather

While the 2018 weather had a negative impact on some sectors, it did allow farmers to significantly increase the amount of hay saved (up 130%), and also grass silage made (up 4%).

However, perhaps the most notable weather driven change is in the area of winter crops sown in 2018, with the area planted up 40% to 17,800ha, the highest seen since 2010.

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