| dc.description.abstract | Sheep farming is the second most popular farm enterprise in Ireland after cattle production. Ireland is 340% self-sufficient in sheep meat, meaning that 71% is exported. (Diskin, 2011)There are 3.81 million sheep according to a 2019 census. This represented an increase of 76,000 (2%) sheep on the previous year’s numbers. As of December 2019 there were 34,938 flocks in Ireland. Data was collected that showed the breakdown of Irish flocks according to breeding ewes, rams and other sheep as part of a 2009 census. It showed that there was an increase in numbers between 2009 and 2014, and today that number has levelled out, fluctuating at around 2015/2016 levels. (Ireland National Sheep and Goat Census December 2019) | en_US |
