Livestock husbandry, 1 January 2004, preliminary figures

The decline in number of livestock farmers from 2003 to 2004 comprises all kinds of domestic animals. The number of holdings keeping lying hens dropped by 8 per cent, while the number of holdings keeping dairy cows and holdings keeping sheep went down by about 6 per cent. The decline in number of holdings keeping various domestic animals also led to a decline in the total number of animals.

The number of dairy cows declined by 4 200 to 278 600, and the number of dairy goats by 1 600 to 45 500. The number of pigs for breeding increased by 6 600 to 98 700, and the number of broilers slaughtering during the year 2003 by 1.2 million to 36.8 million.

Larger herds

The average holding with dairy cows had 17 dairy cows in 2004, being three more than in 1999. About 26 per cent of the holdings had at least 20 dairy cows, while the corresponding figure for 1999 was 16 per cent. A holding with sheep had 50 sheep in 1999, against 62 in 2004. The average holding with breeding pigs had 42 breeding pigs in 2004. Almost half of the herds had at least 30 breeding pigs or more in 2004, while a third of the herds were of the same size in 2004.

Tables:

• Table 1 Holdings keeping domestic animals of various kinds as per 1 January, by county
• Table 2 Cattle and sheep. Number of heads as per 1 January, by county
• Table 3 Various domestic animals. Number of heads as per 1 January, by county
• Table 4 Holdings with various kinds of domestic animals, by size of herd. As per 1 January