Just under three quarters of sheep farmers have expressed confidence that they intend on holding ewe numbers steady, according to the results of an Irish Farmers Journal survey.
One in seven sheep farmers said they were upping sheep numbers, and the exact same number said they were reducing flock size. Of the farmers who said they planned on cutting numbers, 28% were looking at a reduction of 10% or lower; one fifth were expecting a reduction of 11-20%; and another third projected a decline of 21-40%.
The results indicate that there is a strong sentiment to hold ewe numbers. An even split of farmers planning to either increase or decrease numbers signals stability in the size of the national flock.
The Department of Agriculture’s 2025 sheep census returned the unexpected result of a 1.1% lift in breeding ewe numbers afters years of successive declines. All counties west of the River Shannon recorded ewe population increases, as well as a handful of other counties in parts not typically associated with sheep, that offset flock decreases in much of the south and east.
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