Ireland’s farming landscape has changed significantly since the Great Famine in 1845 and the many changes have been documented by organisations such as the Central Statistics Office (CSO).

The changes were discussed at a heritage conference held at Mountbellew Agricultural College in Co. Galway this week entitled ‘Harvesting our Heritage’.

It was organised by the college, Galway County Council, Atlantic Technological University (ATU) – of which Mountbellew is now a campus – and the University of Galway.

Speaking at the event was CSO statistician for agriculture surveys, Sophie Emerson who gave an overview of agricultural statistics and farming since the famine.

Farming since the Famine

Emerson explained that since the Famine the Irish agricultural landscape has changed “significantly”.

CSO statistician, Sophie Emerson presenting to the Harvesting our Heritage conference at Mountbellew Agricultural College

“It used to be a system highly reliant on the potato to one that is now much more diverse,” she said.

“These changes were driven by land reforms, modernisation, EU membership, global events such as pandemics, war, Brexit.

“Something that is still the same however, is that agriculture is still a vital part of our Irish economy and culture.”

The CSO statistician explained that in general, livestock numbers have increased since the Famine.

“I think this kind of makes sense in that we are moving away from being overly reliant on tillage and overly reliant on the potato,” she continued.

“Over the years we see a general strengthening of the livestock industry and this is down to many things; enhanced breeding practices, improved genetics and better veterinary care from people such as Aleen Cust and her contemporaries.

“This all contributed to increased productivity.”

Breaking clods on potato ridges c. 1900. Image source: Welch Collection, WOI/56/25, Ulster Museum via CSO

Moving further on through the decades, Emerson explained that sheep numbers increased rapidly in the 1980s.

“Ewe numbers rose from 1.5 million in 1980 to 4.8 million in 1992 and this has been since the reform of the common agricultural policy [CAP] as part of being part of the EU,” she said.

“Since that CAP, there was an imposition of quotas on sheep and then numbers have since declined to 4.46 million.”

Emerson also outlined a decline in pig numbers as a result of a reduction in pig prices towards the end of 1923.

“But then numbers did recover quickly. So, Britain actually banned the import of pork from mainland Europe for disease reasons and thus we became more important in terms of the British import of pork,” Emerson explained.

A further decline in pig numbers was reported in Ireland around 1942 also, due to a shortage in pig feed around the time of the second world war.

The CSO data shows that the post-war period saw a shift towards more commercial farming practices in Ireland with farms becoming larger and more specialised.

“You can see that cattle numbers, overall, have increased over the past 150 years; there was a significant focus on dairy and beef production and this was supported by government policies and incentives,” the statistician commented.

“In the late 19th century, indigenous breeds of cattle, sheep and pigs were prevalent and many livestock used to be dual purpose for let’s say…. wool and meat for example with sheep.

“Whereas into the 20th century, improvements in breeding led to more specialist breeds which then improved our livestock quality and productivity.”

Land use

In terms of changes to land use over the 150-year period, CSO data shows a long-term decline in the area of wheat, oats and potatoes sown, particularly in the aftermath of the Famine.

“The area of wheat sown reaches its peak in 1945, so, again, as a response to World War II,” Emerson continued.

“The area under oats reached its peak in 1952. So, the area under wheat around 1950 was 270,000ha and oats were 672,000ha.

“Whereas the area sown for wheat and oats, respectively these days, is only 47,000ha and 25,000ha, so a huge decrease since the war years.”

The area of potatoes sown reached its highest value in 1859 at approximately 380,000ha according to the CSO data but this area has continued to decline since, with the exception of the ‘war years’.

The spike in tillage area around World War II was largely contributed to by the Compulsory Tillage Order at the time.

“This was an unpopular measure brought in by the Irish government in 1941. It required landowners to till a certain percentage of their land for crop production,” Emerson added.

“This was to increase food production to support the war effort and mitigate the effects of food shortages.

“This order had a significant impact on farmers who had to adjust their farming practices to meet these new requirements.”

The statistician said the order proved challenging for some farmers who may not have had the resources for tillage or not had suitable land for crop production and fines were issued.

Spreading retted flax c. 1912. Source: Green Collection WAG 1015, Ulster Folk and Transport Museum via CSO

Emerson drew parallels between the compulsory measure imposed around World War II to farm more tillage and the voluntary measures introduced more recently to increase Ireland’s tillage area as a result of the challenges caused by the conflict in Ukraine.

Farm size

The lecture to the heritage conference also highlighted the reduction on the number of agricultural holdings since the Famine, but the increase in the average size of such holdings.

“There are several factors that would contribute to this,” Emerson outlined.

“Smaller farms may struggle to remain financially viable, when compared to larger farms. We’re all aware of the increasing cost of machinery, seeds and fertilisers and as a result it may be harder for smaller farms to remain profitable.”

“People may choose to sell their farms or they consolidate it into these larger operations. Agricultural policies and subsidies can often favour larger farms,” she added.

She also explained that regulations and administrative requirements can also place a burden on farmers, even more so for smaller farmers and they may find it challenging to keep up with the changing landscape.

She also referenced Ireland’s ageing farmer population and mentioned barriers to younger generations here entering farming.

“As older farmers retire, they may, instead, sell their land to a neighbouring farm or larger agricultural enterprises,” Emerson stated.

“Even in our most recent agricultural census we found that only about half of farmers have any kind of succession plan in place.”

Farming since the Famine

Land use

Farm size

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Farming since the Famine - how Irish agriculture has changed