Drop in cattle number in Ireland 'should be wake-up call for policymakers'
The 3.8% drop in the number of cattle in Ireland "should be a wake-up call for policymakers", the Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers' Association (ICSA) has said.
The number of cattle in Ireland as of June 1, 2025, was more than 276,000 head below the same time last year, according to Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) figures.
ICSA beef chair John Cleary has said the decline could be the "thin edge of the wedge" and has warned that the decrease "could double next year if current trends continue".
"The national herd is declining at a worrying pace, and unless there is urgent intervention, the exodus from cattle farming will only accelerate,” Cleary said.
“What we are now witnessing is the cumulative impact of policies that just keep making it increasingly difficult to keep cattle.
"Beef-sired cattle numbers are down over 92,000 head in just 12 months, and if this trend continues, we could see a decline of double that magnitude next year.
"This is not sustainable, and it signals real danger for the future of our family farms and rural economies.”
Cleary said that farmers are "finding it harder and harder" to maintain viable stocking rates, because they are "being hammered by policies that are making it nearly impossible to keep going".
“There is also the very real prospect that with fewer cattle in the system and reduced factory throughput, we’ll see less competition, with smaller processors being squeezed out," the beef chair continued.
"That will inevitably hit farmers in the pocket through weaker prices. We cannot afford to let that happen.”
Cleary said that while live exports have increased and continue to play a vital role in balancing the market, they may not be a long-term solution.
“Overreliance on live exports is risky. The real issue is that fewer calves are being born because fewer cows are being kept - and that is down to a policy environment that undermines confidence in the future," he explained.
Cleary said that the "widening gap" between what older and younger farmers are "prepared to put up with should also sound alarm bells".
"The older generation are increasingly worn out by the paperwork and the policy swings," he said.
"Meanwhile, young farmers are watching all this and asking themselves: 'why would I sign up for this?'.
"The risk is that both groups decide it’s not worth it.”
Cleary said that if policymakers don’t act now to "restore confidence and give farmers a reason to stay in business", the "collapse of the national herd will become unstoppable"
"And with it, the collapse of rural economies across the country," he added.
