Number of bovine animals, 1 May 2012

The number of cattle at start of May was 912,800. This almost equals the number at the corresponding time last year. A total of 14,170 farms had cattle.
The number of dairy cows, heifers and bulls decreased, whereas that of suckler cows and calves increased.
The number of dairy cows was 283,600. The average number of dairy cows at a farm was 28. There were 213 farms with more than 100 dairy cows in each.
The number of suckler cows increased slightly. There were about 58,000 suckler cows at the start of May.