Results from the Scottish Agricultural Census: June 2026
Final results from the 2026 June Agricultural Census on land use, crop areas, livestock and the people working on agricultural holdings. Modular results on cattle housing, technology, feed supplements, and peatlands also included.
Part of
Total cattle numbers increase for the first time since 2021
Total cattle numbers increased in 2026 by 11,300 (0.7%) to 1.67 million cattle when compared with the previous year. Annual increases in total male cattle (1.9% increase), total female beef cattle (0.9%) and total calves (0.2%) contributed to the overall annual increase and offset a fall in total female dairy cattle (0.2% decrease).
Since 2016, total cattle numbers have decreased by 139,100 from 1.80 million cattle (a 7.7% decrease) and remain 1.3% below the five-year average. Looking further back, Scotland's cattle population remains well below its historic peak of 2.68 million cattle recorded in 1974.
Figure 7: Total number of cattle, 1974 to 2026.
Contact
agric.stats@gov.scot