National statistics

Livestock populations in England at 1 December 2023

Updated 29 February 2024

Applies to England

This release shows the number of cattle, pigs and sheep on agricultural holdings in England on 1 December 2023. A full timeseries containing detailed breakdowns is available at Livestock populations in England.

Key findings

• There were just under 5 million cattle and calves on farms on 1 December 2023, a decrease of 1.2% from December 2022.
• There were 3.3 million pigs on farms, a decrease of 10% since last December.
• There were 10.1 million sheep and lambs on farms, a decrease of 4.7% since last December.

Section 1 – Detailed results

1.1 Cattle

Overall, the total number of cattle and calves has fallen by 1.2% to just under 5.0 million animals between December 2022 and December 2023.The female breeding herd (dairy and beef) accounted for 46% of all female cattle in December 2023.

The breeding herd continues to decrease and now stands at just below 1.7 million (Figure 1), largely driven by a further reduction in the beef herd, decreasing by 4.2% to 597 thousand animals between December 2022 and December 2023.

The dairy herd saw a smaller fall, decreasing by 0.9% to just under 1.1 million animals, and accounts for around two thirds of the breeding herd.

Figure 1: Female dairy and beef breeding herds at 1 December 2019 to 2023

Year	Beef herd	Dairy Herd	Total
2019	674,555	1,128,392	1,802,947
2020	657,454	1,112,986	1,770,440
2021	641,501	1,108,022	1,749,523
2022	622,994	1,100,857	1,723,851
2023	596,653	1,091,247	1,687,900

1.2 Pigs

The total number of pigs in England has decreased by 10% since December 2022 to 3.3 million, driven by an 11% fall in the number of fattening pigs (which account for 91% of all pigs).

The female breeding herd, which accounts for 79% of breeding pigs, saw an increase of 0.7% from 237 thousand in December 2022 to 239 thousand in December 2023, reversing the continued trend of year on year falling numbers. This increase was driven by a 3.5% rise in the number of sows in pig and a 0.7% rise in the number of other sows, which offset a 16% fall in the number of gilts in pig when compared to December 2022 (Figure 2).

Figure 2: Female pig breeding herd at 1 December 2019 to 2023

year	Sows in pig	Gilts in pig	Other sows	Total
2019	229,804	42,757	47,554	320,114
2020	233,282	41,997	41,491	316,770
2021	200,810	42,846	51,335	294,991
2022	169,545	29,406	38,080	237,030
2023	175,488	24,816	38,352	238,656

(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 England decreased by 4.7% to 10.1 million in December 2023. This comprises a 3.8% decrease in the female breeding flock to 6.1 million animals and a 6.1% decrease in the number of other sheep and lambs to just over 4.0 million animals (Figure 3).

Figure 3: Sheep populations at 1 December 2019 to 2023

Year	Female breeding flock	Other sheep and lambs	Total
2019	6,240,917	4,263,468	10,504,386
2020	6,470,151	4,163,912	10,634,063
2021	6,212,635	4,215,975	10,428,609
2022	6,339,847	4,278,737	10,618,583
2023	6,099,083	4,016,944	10,116,027

Section 2 – About these Statistics

2.1 Survey methodology

Data in this publication is mainly sourced from administrative data.

Cattle population data are sourced from the Cattle Tracing System (CTS). The data include returns from all holdings with cattle so are not subject to survey error. The background report is available on the CTS Review web page.

Pig population data is collected through a small survey of pig farms, along with additional data from the head offices of some of the largest pig companies. There were 583 responses in total (a response rate of 71%) so the results are subject to a degree of sampling error.

Pig population estimates relate to commercial* holdings only.

Sheep data is sourced from the Sheep and Goat Inventory (a regulatory exercise requiring all sheep and goat keepers to record animals under their keepership on 1 December each year). The register of sheep holdings in England is maintained by the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) and the data is primarily used for livestock tracing and identification purposes but we also use this data to estimate the size of the English sheep flock. In December 2022, the methodology for dealing with non-responses and the population definition was changed to align more closely with the methodology used in the June Survey of Agriculture. Results for 2021 were also produced to be on the same basis, therefore December sheep estimates relate only to sheep on commercial* agricultural holdings from 2021 onwards.

For more information on the methodology change and for details of the scale of change please see Livestock Populations in England at June and December dataset (metadata tab).

* Commercial holdings definition

Commercial holdings are defined as those with significant levels of farming activity. This covers holdings with more than either 5 ha agricultural land, 1ha orchards, 0.5ha vegetables, 0.1ha protected crops, 10 cows, 50 pigs, 20 sheep, 20 goats or 1,000 poultry.

2.2 Data analysis

The data for pigs and sheep are subject to rigorous validation checks which identify inconsistencies within the data or large year-on-year changes.

Population totals are estimated for each livestock category to account for the non-sampled and non-responding holdings. This is done using the technique known as ratio raising, in which the trend between the response data and base data (previous June Survey response data) is calculated for each item. The calculated ratio is then applied to the previous June Survey population data to give England level estimates for December.

2.3 Data notes

• All percentage changes are based on unrounded figures.
• Totals may not necessarily agree with the sum of their components due to rounding.

2.4 Data uses and users

• The data are used to monitor changes in livestock populations over time which indicates changes to farming structures.
• The data are also used in forecasts of meat and milk production to inform industry of the availability of supply. This in turn affects prices.
• The data are also used to value the livestock industry and to estimate the farming contribution to GDP.
• The December Sheep and Cattle location data (from administrative sources) is also used by APHA to assess the risk of animal diseases and to control outbreaks.

2.5 Other survey results and publications

Results from all the Defra farming surveys can be viewed on the Defra website. This also contains details of future publication dates.

The next publication due for December livestock populations will be UK results, provisionally scheduled for the end of March. The definitive publication date will be announced on the research and statistics webpage on gov.uk. Livestock populations will be provided for cattle and sheep in the UK. Pig estimates are no longer produced by the Devolved Administrations in December.

A full timeseries on the number of cattle, sheep and pigs in England and the UK each year are available here Livestock populations - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

2.6 Feedback

We welcome feedback and any thoughts to improve the publication further. Please send any feedback to: farming-statistics@defra.gov.uk . Suggested questions to help you structure your feedback are below, but all feedback is welcome:

• How relevant is the current content of the publication to your needs as a user?
• What purpose do you require the data for?
• Which data do you find most useful?
• Is there any content that you did not find useful?
• Do you have any suggestions for further development of this release, including additional content, presentation, and any other thoughts?

Section 3 - What you need to know about this release

3.1 Contact details

Jayne Brigham (pigs) and Will Drabble (cattle and sheep)

Email: farming-statistics@defra.gov.uk

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.
• Reviewed and updated the methodology for sheep and lamb estimates.
• Enhanced trustworthiness by removing pre-release access.