At the end of December 2019, the size of the national cattle herd was 34,000 head lower compared with the previous year, according to new figures from the Central Statistics Office (CSO).

At year-end 2019, the size of the national herd stood at just under 6.6m cattle (includes both dairy and beef cattle), which was down 34,000 head on the same time last year.

Reduction

The drop in size of the national cattle herd was driven by a large reduction in the numbers of male cattle in the country. According to the CSO, the total number of male cattle in Ireland fell by 61,000 head last year to just under 1.9m head.

This was influenced by live exports of calves rising by close to 30,000 head to reach 200,377. There was also a knock-on effect from live exports rising by over 60,000 head in 2018 and the beef kill reaching a 20-year high.

The number of female cattle (heifers and cows) grew by 27,300 head

In contrast, the number of female cattle (heifers and cows) grew by 27,300 head to a total of just under 4.7m head. This was mainly driven by the continued growth in the dairy herd, with the number of dairy cows in Ireland rising 57,000 head to just over 1.4m dairy cows.

The number of suckler beef cows in Ireland continues to fall. According to the CSO, the number of suckler beef cows in Ireland fell by 25,500 head last year to just under 957,000.