The number of dairy cows in the country fell by around 36,000 (-2.2%) in the year to June 2025.

That's according to the latest 'Crops and Livestock Provisional June 2025' publication from the Central Statistics Office (CSO), published today (Monday, September 29).

The number of cattle aged two years and over decreased from 812,000 to 741,000 (-8.7%) in the 12 months to June 2025.

The total cattle number was down by 278,300 (-3.9%) to 6,904,800 in June 2025.

The number of dairy cows decreased by 36,100 (-2.2%) while the number of other cows dropped by 46,800 (-5.7%).

The provisional number of dairy cows in 2025 stands at 1,587,900, according to the CSO.

The total number of cattle aged less than two years decreased by 124,300 (-3.2%).

The number of cattle aged two years and over decreased by 71,000 (-8.7%).

Meanwhile, breeding sheep fell by 71,700 (-2.7%) to 2,613,500 when compared with June 2024.

The number of breeding pigs dropped by 16,800 (-11%) to 136,000 in June 2025 when compared with the same month last year.

Commenting on the provisional data, Stephanie Kelleher, statistician in the Agriculture Surveys Section of the CSO, said: "Provisional estimates for June 2025 showed decreases in the total number of Cattle, Sheep, and Pigs when compared with June 2024.

"The estimated number of sheep in June 2025 fell by 1.5% to 5,098,500 when compared with June 2024.

"The number of rams increased by 2,400 (+2.9%) to 85,200.

The figure for breeding sheep was 2,613,500 which was down 2.7% while the number of other sheep decreased by 0.2% to 2,485,000," she said.