Ireland’s Cattle Herd Rose 2% in the Year to June

Ireland’s cattle population recorded an annual increase of 2.0% in the 12 months to June. The rise amounted to roughly 32,000 animals, with dairy cow numbers providing the main contribution to the expansion of the national herd.

Commercial farms kept their milking herd capacity in place during the period. The sector remained subject to regulatory scrutiny involving nitrogen-excretion ceilings, limits connected with the nitrates derogation and targets for reducing greenhouse-gas emissions. The retention of dairy cows maintained the potential volume of milk available at the farm gate and supported the use of pasture during the main seasonal lactation period.

The distribution of cattle remained concentrated in the southern dairy-producing region. County Cork had the country’s largest cattle herd, numbering more than 1.03m head. It also held 384,900 dairy cows, making Cork the largest regional centre for both the overall cattle population and the milking herd.

Cork’s dairy cow population exceeded the combined total recorded in the northern and western provinces. Those provinces accounted for 193,000 dairy cows. The eastern and midland areas recorded a further 291,300 dairy cows, leaving both groupings below Cork’s total.

Processing facilities and established export routes were identified as the channels for additional cattle and raw-milk flows as farm inventories matured. Larger dairy cow numbers provided raw-milk supplies for export-oriented dairy co-operatives, including milk solids used in butter, cheese and nutritional-powder production.

The wider increase in livestock numbers also added throughput capacity for processing plants. The source described this as providing greater security for conversion operations following earlier concerns about tighter animal supplies in domestic processing routes. No change to the stated regulatory limits or emissions targets was reported alongside the herd increase.