The number of both dairy cows and cattle in Ireland both grew in the 12 months to June 2026.

This is according to the latest data from the the Central Statistics Office (CSO) livestock survey for June 2026 released today (September 29).

The total cattle number increased by 164,800 (+2.4%) to 7,069,700 in June 2026.

Commenting on the data, Stephanie Kelleher, statistician in the Agriculture Surveys Section of the CSO, said:

"The number of dairy cows increased by 32,000 (+2.0%), bringing the total to 1,619,800.

"Cattle that were 2 years and over also rose, by 9.1%, while Cattle 1 to 2 years declined slightly by 0.2%."

The number of other cows increased by 15,700 (+2.0%).

The total number of cattle aged less than two years grew by 46,400 (+1.2%).

A regional analysis of the livestock numbers shows that the largest number of cattle (1,403,000) were in the mid-west region.

Cork is the county with the highest number of cattle at 1,039,900.

In terms of dairy cows, Cork (384,900) has more than either the northern and western region (193,000) or eastern and midland region (291,300).

Sheep and pigs

Looking at other livestock, numbers of both sheep and pigs also increased year-on-year.

The total number of sheep increased in the last 12 months by 46,700 (+0.9%) to 5,145,200.

Breeding sheep rose by 88,500 (+3.4%) and other sheep (non-breeding sheep) fell by 41,800 (-1.7%).

Ram numbers increased by 8,700 (+10.2%) to 93,900 between June 2025 and June 2026.

The total number of pigs in Ireland in June 2026 increased by 4.4% to 1,635,900 when compared with June 2025.

Breeding pig numbers were up by 3,000 (+2.2%) to 138,900.

The number of gilts in pig and gilts not yet served also increased by 400 (+2.2%) and 1,000 (+6.0%) respectively.

The number of other sows for breeding rose to 33,300 (+3.5%).

Meanwhile, other pigs (non-breeding pigs) increased by 66,400 (+4.6%) to 1,496,900.

Pigs 20kg and under saw an increase of 20,100 (+5.1%) year-on-year

The only decrease for this category was seen in pigs 80kg and over, which fell by 34,200 to 330,100 (-9.4%).