Stocking Rates and Livestock Units Explained: NI and England
Stocking rate is the number of livestock units your land carries per hectare. It drives grass use, scheme eligibility and, through manure nitrogen, compliance. Here are the official livestock unit values for Northern Ireland and England, how to work out your figure, and the scheme limits that apply.
The Basics
What a Livestock Unit Is
A livestock unit (LU) is a way of putting cows, young stock and sheep on the same scale, so you can add them together. A cow counts as about one unit, and other animals as a fraction of that. Stocking rate is the total LU divided by the area grazed, in LU per hectare.
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland Livestock Units
From DAERA’s Farming with Nature Higher stocking rate checker (2026). CAFRE’s livestock units calculator uses the same cattle values.
| Animal | LU |
|---|---|
| Dairy cow | 1.0 |
| Beef cow | 0.8 |
| Breeding bull | 1.0 |
| Other cattle over 2 years | 0.8 |
| Other cattle 1–2 years | 0.6 |
| Other cattle under 1 year | 0.4 |
| Ewe | 0.15 |
| Ewe and lamb | 0.2 |
| Breeding ram | 0.2 |
| Other sheep over 1 year | 0.2 |
England
England Grazing Livestock Units
From the Sustainable Farming Incentive 2026 and Countryside Stewardship Higher Tier action guidance. Lambs at foot are included in the ewe figure.
| Animal | GLU |
|---|---|
| Cattle over 2 years | 1.0 |
| Cattle over 6 months to 2 years | 0.6 |
| Lowland ewe and lamb, or ram | 0.12 |
| Store lamb, hill ewe and lamb, hogg or teg | 0.08 |
| Goat | 0.12 |
| Horse | 1.0 |
| Pony or donkey | 0.8 |
Example
Working Out Your Stocking Rate
A suckler and sheep farm with 60 ha of grazing:
| Stock | Northern Ireland | England |
|---|---|---|
| 50 suckler cows | 50 × 0.8 = 40 LU | 50 × 1.0 = 50 GLU |
| 40 cattle aged 1–2 years | 40 × 0.6 = 24 LU | 40 × 0.6 = 24 GLU |
| 200 lowland ewes (with lambs) | 200 × 0.2 = 40 LU | 200 × 0.12 = 24 GLU |
| Total | 104 LU | 98 GLU |
| Stocking rate | 1.73 LU/ha | 1.63 GLU/ha |
Use the average number of stock over the period you are reporting on, and the area they actually graze. Check which “ewe” figure your scheme wants — with or without lambs.
Schemes
Scheme Stocking Limits
England
| Scheme action | Limit |
|---|---|
| SFI26 UPL1 — moderate livestock grazing on moorland | Max 0.16 GLU/ha at any time |
| SFI26 UPL2 — low livestock grazing on moorland | Max 0.08 GLU/ha at any time |
| SFI26 UPL3 — limited livestock grazing on moorland | Max 0.04 GLU/ha at any time |
| SFI26 GRH12 — rough grassland for upland breeding waders | Max 0.6 GLU/ha in the breeding season |
| CSHT CUP8 / CUP9 / CUP10 — moorland grazing | 0.16 / 0.08 / 0.04 GLU/ha |
| CSHT CSP6 — cattle grazing supplement | At least 60% of GLU from cattle or ponies |
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland schemes don’t use a single stocking limit. Farming with Nature Higher sets a maximum average stocking rate for each farm in its own site-specific management plan, and the Farm Sustainability Payment has no livestock-unit minimum or maximum.
Compliance
Stocking Rate and the 170 kg N Limit
The legal cap on how many stock a farm can carry in Northern Ireland and England’s NVZs isn’t set in livestock units — it is the 170 kg N/ha limit on nitrogen from livestock manure. That uses different figures per animal (kg of nitrogen, not LU), so two farms with the same LU per hectare can sit very differently against the limit. A dairy cow is 1.0 LU in Northern Ireland but produces 100 kg N a year — so 1.7 dairy cows per hectare already reaches 170.
Livestock Nitrogen Loading Calculator
Check your stock against the 170 kg N/ha limit using the official NI or England figures.
FAQs
Frequently Asked Questions
Q.What is a livestock unit?
A livestock unit (LU) puts different animals on a common scale based on how much grazing they need, with a cow as roughly one unit. In Northern Ireland DAERA counts a dairy cow as 1.0 LU, a beef cow as 0.8 and a ewe as 0.15. England’s schemes use “grazing livestock units”, where cattle over 2 years are 1.0 and a lowland ewe with lambs is 0.12.
Q.How do I work out my stocking rate?
Multiply the number of each type of animal by its livestock unit value, add them up, and divide by the area they graze in hectares. The answer is LU per hectare. Use the table for the scheme or nation you are reporting to — the values are not the same everywhere.
Q.What is the difference between stocking rate and stocking density?
Stocking rate is the number of livestock units over the whole grazing area across a period, usually a year. Stocking density is how many are on a particular field or paddock at one moment — rotational grazing deliberately uses high density for short periods while the overall stocking rate stays the same.
Q.Is there a maximum stocking rate in Northern Ireland?
There is no general livestock-unit limit. The legal limit that caps stock numbers in Northern Ireland is the 170 kg N/ha livestock manure limit (250 with a derogation). Some schemes, such as Farming with Nature Higher, set a maximum average stocking rate for each farm in its own management plan.
Q.What stocking rates do English schemes allow on moorland?
Under the Sustainable Farming Incentive 2026, the moorland grazing actions allow no more than 0.16 GLU/ha (moderate), 0.08 GLU/ha (low) or 0.04 GLU/ha (limited) at any time. Countryside Stewardship Higher Tier has equivalent options.
Planning Stock Numbers or a Scheme Application?
We help farms across Northern Ireland and the UK balance stock numbers, scheme rules and the 170 kg N/ha limit — and put it all in a nutrient management plan.