Final Results Of The June Agricultural Census 2015

The final results of the June 2015 Agricultural Census have been released by the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development. Crop and cereal farming appears to be down but livestock production shows an increase, while the labour force remains the same.

The statistics are compiled from a survey of farm businesses augmented by administrative data. The statistics provide robust estimates of crop areas, numbers of livestock and of farmers and workers on active farm businesses on the survey date of 1 June 2015.

The main changes between June 2014 and June 2015 are:

*  Cereals: The area of cereals was 4% lower in 2015 than in 2014. The pattern of cereal production changed significantly with the area sown to winter wheat down 6% and the area of spring barley down by 7%. Winter barley in contrast increased by 5% on the previous year to reach 7,000 ha – the highest area grown since 1998.

*  Other crops: The area of potatoes was down 14% on the previous year at 3,600 ha. This is the lowest area on record for the crop. The area of arable silage fell by 18%, to 3,300 ha following a number of years when around 4,000 ha were grown. The area of forage maize was down 5% on the 2014 at 1,500 ha, less than half the area grown at the peak of the crop’s popularity in 2008 when 3,500 ha were grown.

[caption id="attachment_49041" align="alignright" width="280"] The results of the June 2015 agricultural census.[/caption]

*  Cattle: Total cattle numbers were 3% higher compared with June 2014. The number of dairy cows, increased by 6% to 311,500 head, which is an all time high. The increase reflected decisions made by dairy farmers up to two years ago, in a more optimistic environment for milk production. The number of beef cows increased by 2% to 260,300 against a backdrop of continuing tight margins for suckled beef production.

*  Sheep: There was a 3% increase in the number of breeding ewes compared with 2014. Numbers have fluctuated in recent years, falling to a 20 year low of 875,900 in 2010 before rallying to 938,600 this year – the highest number since 2007. Lamb numbers increased by 4% mainly as a result of higher ewe numbers and good grazing conditions during the breeding season in autumn 2014.

*  Pigs: Sow and gilts in pig increased by 7% compared with a year earlier to 45,600. The overall pig herd was 10% bigger, largely as a result of growth in the number of fattening pigs. Imports of pigs for finishing had an influence on numbers, however a small number of large, highly productive businesses, drive most of the change in the sector.

*  Poultry: Continuing expansion in broiler and egg production was evident in the last year with the total number of birds 4% higher in June 2015 compared with a year earlier at 21.3 million.

*  Farmers and workers: The size of the agricultural labour force was little changed this June on the previous year at 48,000. However, the number of farmers increased by 3% to 30,100 reflecting increases in both the full-time and part-time farmer categories. The change was largely the result of an increase of in the number of farm businesses at June this year compared to the same month in 2014.

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