Land use
An ever expanding world population, higher demand for food and increased use of land for the production of renewable energy crops could significantly change the look of the farmed landscape. Over the next twenty years all of Bórd na Móna’s 80,000 hectares of industrial peatland will be exhausted of their peat reserves. Decisions on their subsequent use will influence the landscape of the midlands.
The present tillage area of 350, 000 hectares has decreased from a high of 1,867,000 hectares in 1851. By 2030, grass-based dairying will have fewer but generally larger farms producing twice the volume of high quality milk. Grass will provide the basis for a significant beef industry. Sheep farming will remain an important enterprise on part-time farms and on some mixed large-scale farms and will provide a landscape management function on hills. Tillage farming will occupy 0.5 million hectares dominated by a relatively small number of large scale growers. The next 20 years will see an increase in the area devoted to traditional tillage crops and also to maize and energy crops.