Service
National Sheep and Goat Census
From Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine
Published on
Last updated on
Sheep and goat keepers must count the number of animals present on their farms each year and record the details on a census form and in their flock register. They are legally obliged to return their completed census form each year to the Department of Agriculture Food and the Marine.
The Annual Sheep and Goat Census normally takes place in December. Each registered keeper receives a census return in the post to record the number of sheep or goats on the farm. The form should be completed and returned immediately in the pre-addressed envelope provided. Census returns can also be submitted online through agfood.ie.
If you have no sheep or goats at all on the date of the census you must complete a nil return. Failure to complete and submit a census return will result in your designator number being made dormant. This will prevent you from ordering sheep or goat tags, dispatch and movement books or flock and herd registers.
Online submissions can be done each year once keepers are registered with agfood.ie. Having logged on to agfood.ie, registered keepers select Animal Identification and Movements. If prompted to select a species, select sheep or goats as appropriate, followed by Keeper, then Census and Create. An online version of the census form for the selected species is displayed. The online system provides confirmation when a census submission has been completed successfully
Keepers who are not already registered can do so by logging in to agfood.ie and clicking on the option to register.
