The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) map of bovine population per km2.
While Leinster and Munster contain the largest cattle populations, certain areas of Ulster and Connacht also contain pockets where stocking density is surprisingly high.
Areas that bovine population is highest per km2 can be linked with counties that traditionally have a high dairy cow population, such as Cork, Limerick, Tipperary and Kilkenny.
Since quotas have been lifted in Ireland, an increase in livestock numbers has been witnessed in areas that would have traditionally been tillage regions.
The map was published in DAFM’s Animal Identification and Movement (AIM) Bovine Statistics Report for 2020.
