Cork dominates as Ireland's dairy herd expands
The national dairy herd has grown by 2% since June 2025, according to the latest analysis by the Irish Cattle Breeding Federation (ICBF).
As of June 30, 2026, the national dairy herd is standing at 1,668,211 head, an increase of 32,471 head from 2025's figure of 1,635,740.
This follows a reduction of 36,100 or 2.2% between June 2024 and June 2025, according to the Central Statistics Office (CSO).
The growing figure comes despite growing concerns around generational renewal, poor milk prices, high costs, and question marks around another derogation beyond 2028.
Where is Ireland's dairy?
Cork remains the dairy capital of Ireland as the county's dairy population grew by 5,657 cows, bring the total number up to 394,196.
That's twice as many dairy cows as the second highest population in Ireland, which goes to Tipperary with 193,981.
Cork makes up for 23.7% of the national dairy cow population, meaning just shy of every one in four cows is in the Rebel County.
In total, 24 counties recorded an increase in dairy cow numbers between 2025 and 2026, while just two counties recorded a decline.
The third highest populated dairy county is Limerick, with 124,792 cows recorded in the region.
Kerry is the fifth highest populated county with 102,327 cows, while Waterford has 92,789, and Clare has 34,489, bring the total population of cows in Munster up to 942,574.
This accounts for 43.5% of Ireland's total dairy population.
The fourth largest population is Kilkenny with 107,804 cows.
The top five counties in terms of total dairy cows accounted for 55.3% of the national population.
The counties of Waterford, Wexford, Meath, Laois, and Galway rounded out the top 10 dairy counties, which made up 76.8% of all dairy cows in Ireland.
Leitrim recorded the lowest population of dairy cows, with only 2,297 cows in the county.
Dublin followed closely with the second lowest population of 2,976.
Sligo had the third lowest population with 9,439 cows, Roscommon in fourth with 12,606 cows, and Longford in fifth with 13,979 cows.
Every county saw dairy numbers increase this year except for Cavan, as the county herd fell by 1,281, and Mayo with a slight reduction of 11 cows.
ICBF has provided a breakdown of each county's total population and the percentage of Ireland total population that county holds, in the table below:
| County | No. of cows in 2026 | National percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Cork | 394,196 | 23.6% |
| Tipperary | 193,981 | 11.6% |
| Limerick | 124,792 | 7.5% |
| Kilkenny | 107,804 | 6.5% |
| Kerry | 102,327 | 6.1% |
| Waterford | 92,976 | 5.6% |
| Wexford | 88,534 | 5.3% |
| Meath | 69,471 | 4.2% |
| Laois | 60,270 | 3.6% |
| Galway | 47,741 | 2.9% |
| Cavan | 46,252 | 2.8% |
| Offaly | 45,635 | 2.7% |
| Monaghan | 43,262 | 2.6% |
| Westmeath | 36,070 | 2.2% |
| Clare | 34,489 | 2.1% |
| Wicklow | 28,505 | 1.7% |
| Donegal | 25,795 | 1.5% |
| Kildare | 23,382 | 1.4% |
| Louth | 22,169 | 1.3% |
| Carlow | 20,414 | 1.2% |
| Mayo | 19,036 | 1.1% |
| Longford | 13,979 | 0.8% |
| Roscommon | 12,606 | 0.8% |
| Sligo | 9,439 | 0.6% |
| Dublin | 2,976 | 0.2% |
| Leitrim | 2,297 | 0.1% |
