Farms and enclosed fields dominate the Irish landscape. Two-thirds of the surface area is improved agricultural land and much of the remainder is used by farmers as rough grazing for cattle and sheep. Almost all the land is owned by the farmers who work it, the former defective tenancy system as was replaced by owner-occupancy in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. Farms of small and medium size predominate, over half the holdings being 10-40 hectares. Farm size decreases westwards and northwards and poorer land quality in the west adds to the agricultural difficulties of the area.
Although the role of agriculture diminishes as the Economy develops, it is still a major source of income, export earnings and employment. Farm products contribute about 20 per cent of the total value of exports and agriculture's share of employment is 14 per cent (7 per cent in Northern Ireland). The agricultural labour force has halved over the last twenty-five years but the welfare of the farming community has increased, aided since 1973 by the market outlets and financial support of the EU.
Irish agriculture is predominantly mixed pastoral farming with some subsidiary arable cropping. The mild, moist climate and the soils are more suitable for the growth of grass than for arable crops. Livestock farming has been further favoured by the large market demand for its products in Britain and continental Europe. Livestock products account for more than four-fifths of the value of agricultural output. Dairying is most important in the south-west and in the north and, apart from urban supply from areas near cities, most of the milk is processed. The beef cattle industry is widespread: the emphasis in the west on rearing young stock, whereas on the better land and the larger farms of midland and eastern areas it is more on fattening. Sheep are of greatest significance in the upland environment and in a traditional sheep area on the dry limestone land of south Connacht. The horse-breeding industry is most concentrated in north Leinster with many stud farms around the Curragh in County Kildare. Pig and poultry production was traditionally associated with the small- farm, dairying areas of Ulster and to a lesser extent with Munster but modern production units have been established in other places also. Tillage occupies one-tenth of the agricultural land, the main crops being barley, wheat, oats, potatoes and sugar beet. They are mainly on the lighter soils in the drier and sunnier east of the country, though oats and potatoes are better able to tolerate conditions in the west.