Decline in national herd at 3%

The national livestock herd has continued to decline with a further drop of 3% for 2006 in the latest CSO figures which show that the total cattle population has dropped by 400,000 head over five years.

At the end of December 2006, the national herd was recorded at a fraction over six million head compared to 6.4 million head at the end of December 2001.

The decline in 2007 was mainly driven by a drop of 50,000 head in the number of male calves aged one year and under — reflecting the increase in live exports in 2006 — and a drop of 60,000 head in the number of male animals between one and two years, which should result in a lower supply of cattle available to the factories for the year.