Drop in cattle numbers sees fall in greenhouse gas emissions

Irish agriculture emissions decreased slightly in 2025 due to a drop in cattle numbers, according to the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) provisional greenhouse gas emissions report. Total emissions from the agriculture sector in 2025 were 20.40 Mt CO2eq, a decrease of 0.2% or 0.04 Mt CO2eq on 2024. This was primarily due to a 3.3% reduction in cattle numbers offset by a 12.7% increase in nitrogen fertiliser use and a 4.8% increase in milk production. While the total poultry population increased by 6.3% in 2025, livestock numbers in general decreased. The number of sheep decreased by 7.9%, pigs by 4.0%, non-dairy cattle by 4.0% and dairy cows decreased by 0.9%. However, milk output per cow increased by 5.6% and overall milk production increased by 4.8%. Methane Methane (CH4) emissions which originate from enteric fermentation, manure management and fuel combustion, decreased by 1.7% since 2024. In 2025, CH4 emissions accounted for 70.1% of total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from the agriculture sector in Ireland. Nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions stood for 23.2% of total agriculture emissions, a 5% increase on 2024, reflecting the 12.7% increase in fertiliser nitrogen use to 349.9 kilotonnes in 2025. In 2025, carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions contributed 6.6% of total emissions in the agriculture sector, a drop of 0.8% compared to 2024. Lime CO2 emissions originate from liming, urea application and fuel combustion. The application of lime to soils decreased by 9.8% in 2025 compared to 2024, with 0.93 million tonnes of lime used in Ireland in total. Lime application can be used as a mitigation measure application to improve soil fertility, leading to sustained reductions in nitrogen fertiliser usage and a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. There was a decrease in dairy cow number in 2025 and 2024, following 13 consecutive years of increases up to 2023. A significant increase in milk output per cow of 5.6% in 2025 was also observed and an overall increase in milk production of 4.8%, despite the 0.9% decrease in dairy cow population. Total fossil fuel consumption across agriculture, forestry and fishing activities in 2025 increased by 8.6%, the EPA has said. Overall emissions 2025 saw a decrease of 2.2% in Ireland’s total GHG emissions, a reduction of 1.2 Mt CO2eq compared to 2024, the report details. Reductions were seen across all main sectors with the largest reductions observed in energy (down 7.1%), buildings (down 4.7%), industry (down 3.3%) and transport (down 1.5%). While greenhouse gases are falling overall, the national target is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 51% in 2030 compared to 2018, and as of 2025, emissions have fallen by 14.5%. A 10% decrease in GHG emissions is now needed each year up to 2030 to meet our national climate target.