Quantifying Land Fragmentation in Northern Irish Cattle Enterprises

Farmland fragmentation is considered to be a defining feature of Northern Ireland’s (NI) agricultural landscape, influencing efficiency, productivity, and the spread livestock diseases. Despite this, full extent farmland in cattle farms NI not well understood, little known how either influences, or influenced by, different animal production types. Here, we describe quantify for all NI, using GIS processing land parcel data associate individual parcels with on business associated land. We found that 35% consisted five more fragments, dairy greater levels fragmentation, fragment dispersal contact contiguous neighbours compared other The elevated non-dairy, may recent expansion by acquisition, following abolition milk quota system 2015. comparatively high observed also have important implications productivity epidemiology alike. Whilst highly connected pastures could facilitate dissemination disease, fragmented hamper via diseconomies scale, such as preventing increase herd sizes additionally, adding farm costs increasing complexity management.