Organic livestock 

Organic cattle 

In 2024, there were 35,000 organically farmed cattle in Scotland, representing 2.1% of Scotland’s cattle population when compared with annual results from the June Agricultural Census. This is a decrease in organic cattle population of 1.8% from 2023 when it also represented 2.1% of Scotland’s cattle population. However, this is an increase of 18% since 2018 when organic cattle represented 1.7% of the overall population. 

Figure 4: Organic cattle in Scotland, 2018 to 2024.

Organic sheep 

There were 157,000 organically farmed sheep in 2024, representing 2.4% of sheep in Scotland. This is a 5.7% increase on 2023, and a 10% increase since 2018. 

Figure 5: Organic sheep in Scotland, 2018 to 2024.

Organic pigs 

The number of organically farmed pigs has fluctuated between 2018 and 2024. Between 2022 and 2023, there was a 91% decrease to under 1,000 organically farmed pigs in Scotland. This decrease can mainly be attributed to more pig-producing farms being present in 2022 compared with 2023. Pig numbers increased by 17% in 2024 but remained under 1,000.

Figure 6: Organic pigs in Scotland, 2018 to 2024.

Organic poultry 

Organically farmed poultry numbers have fluctuated since 2018. Numbers increased from 2020 to 2022 where they reached a peak of 384,000. In 2024, numbers decreased to 254,000 which represents 2.1% of the poultry population in Scotland. 

Figure 7: Organic poultry in Scotland, 2018 to 2024.