Accredited official statistics

Livestock populations in the United Kingdom at 1 June 2024

Updated 17 December 2024

This release contains the estimates of cattle, sheep, pig and poultry populations on agricultural holdings in the UK on 1 June 2024. The notice is compiled using data available at the time of publication.

Results are sourced from the June Surveys run in each country.

The result tables are available at Livestock populations in the United Kingdom. This dataset contains detailed breakdowns for all livestock, including other livestock.

Key points

• The total number of cattle and calves in the UK decreased by 1.5% to 9.4 million in June 2024. The breeding herd saw a decrease of 1.9% and now stands at just under 3.2 million.
• In 2024, the total number of pigs in the UK remained relatively stable at 4.7 million animals. Breeding pig numbers fell by 1.7% to 421 thousand animals, while fattening pigs rose by 0.9%.
• The total number of sheep and lambs decreased by 2.5% to 31.0 million. The female breeding flock fell by 3.6% to 14.9 million and lambs decreased by 1.5% to 15.2 million.
• The total number of poultry decreased by 1.2% to 176 million in 2024. Broiler numbers decreased by 3.5% to 112 million whilst the breeding and laying flock saw an increase of 1.5% to almost 55 million.

Section 1 Detailed results

1.1 Cattle

The number of cattle and calves in the UK has decreased by 1.5% between 2023 and 2024 and now stands at 9.4 million animals.

Figure 1: Dairy and beef herd numbers in the United Kingdom at 1 June (Number of cattle)

year	Beef herd	Dairy herd	Total
2020	1,508,937	1,850,228	3,359,165
2021	1,485,283	1,850,042	3,335,325
2022	1,462,980	1,841,845	3,304,825
2023	1,407,171	1,836,164	3,243,335
2024	1,344,374	1,836,442	3,180,816

The breeding herd accounts for over a third of total cattle and fell by 1.9% to 3.2 million in 2024. Within this, the dairy herd remained stable at 1.8 million animals, accounting for just over half of the breeding herd. The beef herd decreased by 4.5% to 1.3 million animals (Figure 1) driving the gradual downward trend seen in the breeding herd in recent years.

1.2 Pigs

The number of pigs in the UK has remained relatively stable at 4.7 million in 2024, helped by a 0.9% rise in the number of fattening pigs.

The number of breeding pigs has decreased by 1.7% to 421 thousand head. The female breeding herd which accounts for 78% of breeding pigs fell by 3.1% to 327 thousand head. Within this, gilts in pig saw the largest decrease, down 11% but decreases were seen across each category (Figure 2). Other breeding pigs saw an increase in 2024, rising by 3.7% from 90 thousand head to 93 thousand head.

Figure 2: Breakdown of the female pig breeding herd in the United Kingdom at 1 June (Number of pigs)

Year	Sows in pig	Gilts in pig	Other sows	Total
2020	295,309	56,741	50,147	402,197
2021	281,954	53,636	62,808	398,398
2022	247,004	42,304	53,794	343,102
2023	238,228	47,808	51,897	337,933
2024	236,210	42,579	48,517	327,306

(1) Other sows are those either being suckled or dry sows kept for further breeding.

1.3 Sheep

The number of sheep and lambs in the UK has decreased by 2.5% to 31 million in 2024. All UK nations, except for Wales, saw a fall in numbers.

Lambs account for almost half of all sheep and decreased by 1.5% to 15.2 million. The female breeding flock accounts for a further 48% of all sheep and saw a decrease in 2024, falling by 3.6% to 14.9 million sheep (Figure 3).

Figure 3: Breakdown of the total sheep in the United Kingdom at 1 June (Number of sheep)

year	Female breeding flock	Other sheep and lambs	Total
2020	15,369,528	17,327,913	32,697,441
2021	15,624,233	17,332,789	32,957,022
2022	15,825,519	17,348,229	33,173,748
2023	15,437,826	16,364,710	31,802,536
2024	14,881,531	16,135,170	31,016,701

1.4 Poultry

The number of poultry in the UK has decreased by 1.2% to 176 million birds in 2024.

The overall reduction in numbers is largely due to a 3.5% fall to 112 million in the number of table chickens (broilers), which account for 64% of all poultry. The number of breeding and laying fowl increased by 1.5% to 55 million (Figure 4).

Figure 4: Breakdown of the total breeding and laying flock in the United Kingdom at 1 June (Number of birds)

Year	Hens and pullets laying eggs for eating	Breeding flock	Total
2020	39,758,425	13,785,080	53,543,505
2021	40,567,728	12,270,905	52,838,633
2022	40,442,225	12,020,826	52,463,051
2023	41,072,748	12,719,650	53,792,398
2024	41,862,895	12,748,629	54,611,524

Section 2 About these statistics

2.1 Data uses and users

• Data from the June Survey help us monitor changes in livestock populations over time and effects of changing policies, including during the agricultural transition period.
• The numbers are also used to make forecasts of meat and milk production to inform industry of the availability of supply which affects prices.
• Livestock distributions across the UK help assess the risk of veterinary disease and to control outbreaks.
• The data are also used heavily in calculations of the greenhouse gas and ammonia emissions inventories.

Results from the England June Survey of Agriculture and Horticulture also have a wide range of uses and users with requests for data being made daily. A document providing information of specific uses and users can be found on our guidance and notes.

2.2 Other survey results and publications

More detailed results from the June Survey can be found on our Structure of the agricultural industry in England and the UK at June web page. This includes various time series of crop areas and livestock numbers dating back as early as 1866 and detailed geographical breakdowns of the results.

The results from the June Survey of Agriculture 2025 in England are expected to be published as follows:

• Cereal and oilseed rape areas and Livestock populations in August 2025.
• Agricultural land use and Agricultural workforce data expected to be available in September 2025.

United Kingdom results are expected to be published in December 2025.

Provisional cereal and oilseed harvest statistics for England are expected to be published in October 2025, with United Kingdom estimates expected in December 2025.

The definitive publication dates for all UK nation releases will be announced on the research and statistics webpage on gov.uk.

2.3 Methodology: June Survey of Agriculture and Horticulture

Data on crop areas and livestock populations are collected in the June Survey of Agriculture and Horticulture carried out by each of the UK agriculture departments. The methodology adopted by each country is below.

England

England results are from the June Survey of Agriculture and Horticulture in 2024. The June Survey of Agriculture and Horticulture has been run predominantly online since 2011, with an option for farmers to complete a paper form if they prefer. The survey is annual and samples around 30,000 holdings most years, with a full census run once a decade. The last census was run in 2021.

The June 2024 survey was sent to a sample of 56,000 commercial holdings and responses were received from 30,000 holdings, representing a response rate of almost 53%. This is a larger sample than usual which will enable us to provide detailed geographical breakdowns later in the year and help to understand changes currently happening within the farming sector, e.g. changes in land use following the introduction of ELM schemes. Commercial holdings are defined as those with more than five hectares of agricultural land, one hectare of orchards, 0.5 hectares of vegetables or 0.1 hectares of protected crops, or more than 10 cows, 50 pigs, 20 sheep, 20 goats or 1,000 poultry.

Table 1 provides details of the sample survey population broken down by farm size. The size of a farm is determined by its Standard Labour Requirement (SLR). i.e. the typical number of full-time workers required on the holding. In the SLR system, each livestock type and land-use has a theoretical amount of labour required each year. This value is multiplied by the land area or livestock numbers and then summed to give the SLR for the holding. For pig and poultry sectors, an additional data collection exercise was run to collect data from a central point for some of the largest companies.

Table 1: June 2024 population size and response rate

Stratum	Description	Sampling rate (%)	Population size
1	SLR < 0.5	30%	50,264
2	SLR >= 0.5 and < 1	51%	15,271
3	SLR >= 1 and < 2	71%	13,527
4	SLR >= 2 and < 3	80%	6,773
5	SLR >= 3 and < 5	80%	6,675
6	SLR >= 5	80%	7,182
10	SLR unknown	97%	5,649
	All	52%	105,341

Cattle results are sourced from the Cattle Tracing System (CTS). The data include returns from all holdings with cattle so are not subject to survey error. More information on the use of this administrative data can be found on the survey notes and guidance report

The data are subject to rigorous validation checks which identify inconsistencies within the data or large year-on-year changes. Any records that have not been cleaned by the results production stage are excluded from the analysis.

Population totals are estimated for each question on the survey to account for the non-sampled and non-responding holdings. This survey uses the technique known as ratio raising, in which the trend between the sample data and base data (previous year s data) is calculated for each stratum. The calculated ratio is then applied to the previous year s population data to give England level estimates. For holdings where we do not have base data (new holdings or long-term non-responders) the sample estimates are raised according to the inverse sampling fraction.

Cereal and oilseed areas and cattle, sheep and pig populations from the England 2024 June Survey were published on 29 August 2024 and Land use and agricultural workforce data were published on 26 September 2024. All can be viewed on our Statistics about the structure of the agricultural industry web page

More details on the June Survey methodology can be found on the Structure of the agricultural industry: survey notes and guidance web page

Scotland

Final results for Scotland were published by the Scottish Government on 24 October 2024 at: www.gov.scot/collections/june-scottish-agricultural-census

The June Agricultural Census is conducted annually by the Scottish Government s Rural and Environmental Science Analytical Services division (RESAS). Data are requested from all holdings who submitted a Single Application Form (SAF) in the previous year, together with some other large businesses that would not be eligible for support payments. A sample of smaller holdings which didn t submit a SAF or who didn t return a form for the previous census were also sent a census form.

Data for the June census is collected from three sources:

• Land data were extracted from the Single Application Form (SAF) database for around 22,600 holdings that are claiming under the Basic Payment Scheme (BPS).
• All holdings within our sample were sent a census form covering land, livestock and labour. Holdings completing a SAF were not expected to complete section 3 (land area) of the census form.
• All cattle data (including data on cattle breeds) were collected from the Cattle Tracing Scheme administrative source. Farmers are required by law to register any births, deaths and movements of their cattle to the British Cattle Movement service who maintain an online database. More information can be found online here. By using this data source we effectively have 100 per cent coverage, even for those smaller holdings that were not selected for inclusion in the census.

RESAS categorises all agricultural holdings in Scotland as either a Main holding or a Min holding. A holding is a Main if it meets certain thresholds such as a certain area of land or a certain amount of animals. All Main holdings in Scotland are included in the census. The smaller holdings are only surveyed around once every four years to reduce the burden on the smaller farms. Holdings which have not received a form in the past four years are included in the sample.

In 2024, there were 45,453 agricultural holdings in Scotland and within the census 35,379 were selected to complete a census form (the majority of these online). Of those who received a request to complete the census 18,767 provided a return, resulting in a final response rate of 54 per cent.

Table 2 below shows the response rates for different types of farms. The first column shows the percentage of holdings that responded. Due to the fact that some larger farms account for a larger proportion of overall activity or land area in Scotland, the second column shows what percentage of land area, livestock or workforce each category represents. In most cases this is higher than the percentage of holdings, indicating that there is better coverage in the census of larger holdings.

Table 2: Percentage cover of holdings, land area, livestock and workforce for different farm features

	percentage cover of holdings	percentage cover of land, livestock or workforce
Total cereals (hectares)	87%	97%
Total crops, set aside & fallow (hectares)	68%	96%
Total sole right agricultural land (hectares)	59%	97%
Total cattle (number)	100%	100%
Total sheep (number)	49%	72%
Total pigs (number)	32%	81%
Total occupiers and spouses (number)	52%	53%
Total regular & seasonal staff (number)	63%	66%
Total agricultural workforce (number)	53%	59%

For further details contact Scottish Government: RESAS Statistics (Agriculture) Email: agric.stats@gov.scot.

Wales

The Welsh population currently stands at around 25,000 active holdings. In 2024 a total of 9,800 farms were sampled. Returns were made both by paper form and online. Online returns comprised 46% of responses received. Final results were based on a response rate of 45%. Final results for Wales were published by the Welsh Government on 21 November 2024 at:

https://gov.wales/survey-agriculture-and-horticulture

For further details contact Agricultural & Rural Affairs Statistics, Welsh Government, Cathays Park, Cardiff, CF10 3NQ (telephone: Cardiff 03000 255049). E-mail: stats.agric@gov.wales.

Northern Ireland

In 2024, the Northern Ireland Agricultural and Horticultural Survey was conducted as a full census using online data collection. Data for the pig and poultry sections are also complete censuses extracted from the NI Annual Inventory of Pigs and Update of NI Bird Register respectively. Data for the cattle section was extracted from the Northern Ireland Food Animal Information System (NIFAIS).

Telephone support was provided for farmers who could not complete online and a focussed telephone follow-up of non-responding farms was carried out.

A statistical estimation and imputation methodology was used to create statistics for those who did not provide a return.

A total of 28,434 letters were issued and a final farm register of 26,190 created. Results are based on 16,358 completed questionnaires.

Final results will be published on 12th December 2024 by the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) for Northern Ireland and can be viewed at: www.daera-ni.gov.uk/articles/agricultural-census-northern-ireland

For further details contact DAERA surveys@daera-ni.gov.uk.

2.4: Feedback

We welcome feedback and any thoughts to improve the publication further. Please send any feedback to: farming-statistics@defra.gov.uk.

Section 3 What you need to know about this release

3.1 Contact details

Responsible statistician: Sarah Thompson

Team: Farming Statistics Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Email: farming-statistics@defra.gov.uk

Tel: 0300 060 0170

3.2 Accredited official statistics

Accredited official statistics are called National Statistics in the Statistics and Registration Service Act 2007. An explanation can be found on the Office for Statistics Regulation website.

Our statistical practice is regulated by the Office for Statistics Regulation (OSR). OSR sets the standards of trustworthiness, quality and value in the Code of Practice for Statistics that all producers of official statistics should adhere to.

These accredited official statistics were independently reviewed by the Office for Statistics Regulation in 2014. They comply with the standards of trustworthiness, quality and value in the Code of Practice for Statistics and should be labelled accredited official statistics .

You are welcome to contact us directly with any comments about how we meet these standards (see contact details). Alternatively, you can contact OSR by emailing regulation@statistics.gov.uk or via the OSR website.

Since the latest review by the Office for Statistics Regulation, we have continued to comply with the Code of Practice for Statistics, and have made the following improvements:

• Reviewed and amended the validation checks carried out on response data including validation against new administrative data sources to better assure ourselves of the quality of the statistics.
• Enhanced trustworthiness by removing pre-release access.