The overall national pig heard saw a decrease of 155,153 last year compared to 2021, reflecting a decrease of 8.64% year-on-year, according to the National Pig Census.
The national herd stood at 1,640,141 pigs last year, across 1,541 active herds.
The results of the census were recently published by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine.
Any person who keeps any pigs is legally required to conduct a census on their holding, at least annually, at a time determined by the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine. The date chosen for the 2022 Pig Census was Sunday, October 23, 2022.
In October 2022, pig census forms issued to the 3,038 pig keepers registered with the department. Completed returns were received in respect of 2,712 holdings, representing a response rate of over 89%. 1,171 of the respondent holdings were not active.
An active herd is a herd that is currently populated, or which was reported to have been populated at some point in the immediate preceding 12 months.
The total number of pigs in 2022 breaks down as 135,652 breeding pigs, 1,503,538 fattening pigs and 951 non-production pigs.
The number of fattening pigs was 146,254 (8.86%) lower last year compared to the previous year, while the number of breeding pigs decreased by 8,941 (6.18%).
Only five counties saw increases in pig numbers year-on-year, namely Leitrim, Meath, Monaghan, Offaly, and Westmeath.
The average number of pigs kept per herd last year was 1,064, almost unchanged compared to 2021.
1,115 active herds, or some 72.35% of all herds, kept 20 or fewer pigs.
43 herds – 2.79% of the total – kept in excess of 10,000 pigs each. These herds together accounted for 702,006 pigs – or 42.08% of the total in the country.
96.23% of all pigs were accounted for by just 263 herds, each keeping more than 1,000 pigs.
53 other herds, which kept between 501 and 1,000 pigs, accounted for only 2.5% of the overall pig population, with 41,067 pigs between them.
1,444 pigs, accounting for just under 0.1% of the population, were accounted for by the 988 respondents to the survey who kept five or less pigs. Such herds represented some 64.11% of total active herd numbers.
As has been the case since 2016, Co. Cavan recorded the largest pig population with some 314,418 pigs, representing 19.17% of the total number.
Co. Cork again recorded the second highest population with 270,558 (16.5%), and Co. Tipperary recorded the third highest number with 170,604 (10.4%).
The smallest pig populations were recorded in counties Dublin (46), Galway (2,875), and Leitrim (3,518).
Co. Cork continued to record the largest number of active herds (228), accounting for 14.8% of the total number of herds. Counties Wexford and Tipperary were the next highest with 109 and 108 herds respectively.
The counties with the smallest numbers of active herds were Dublin (20), Louth (21), and Leitrim (22).
The full county-by-county breakdown is as follows:
Counties Active herds Breeding pigs Fattening pigs Non-production pigs Total pigs Carlow 35 2,034 41,200 14 43,248 Cavan 99 27,134 287,255 29 314,418 Clare 39 1,533 4,652 38 6,223 Cork 228 19,537 250,925 96 270,558 Donegal 80 3,465 48,845 50 52,360 Dublin 20 10 17 19 46 Galway 77 66 2,702 107 2,875 Kerry 56 3,270 33,585 20 36,875 Kildare 48 2,223 24,158 24 26,405 Kilkenny 56 4,420 44,388 30 48,838 Laois 53 3,589 39,811 84 43,484 Leitrim 22 68 3,429 21 3,518 Limerick 36 3,995 46,049 10 50,054 Longford 33 5,274 71,448 17 76,739 Louth 21 218 10,226 3 10,447 Mayo 49 1,231 17,448 47 19,061 Meath 78 7,470 36,577 47 44,094 Monaghan 32 2,680 34,376 19 37,075 Offaly 30 8,406 76,882 13 85,301 Roscommon 28 1,535 20,107 22 21,664 Sligo 23 707 6,830 27 7,564 Tipperary 108 11,334 159,243 27 170,604 Waterford 54 6,926 97,328 47 104,301 Westmeath 57 5,403 92,456 21 97,880 Wexford 109 12,703 48,622 68 61,393 Wicklow 70 421 4,644 51 5,116 Total 1,541 135,652 1,503,538 951 1,640,141