Agriculture is of major importance to the economy, particularly in the central and northern area. The County is essentially one of small farms with dairy farming predominating. We have about 5,000 dairy farmers with herd average of twenty-four cows and an average milk yield of about 800 gallons per cow. About 100 million gallons of milk are produced each year. Sheep numbers, at about 500,000 are substantial, while there is a limited amount of cereal growing in the northern part of the County.
Manufacturing industry is a significant contributor to economic development and employment creation.
The major employers in this area are, of course, located in the large towns such as Tralee , Killarney, Listowel , Castleisland, Killorglin and so on. Forestry is a significant and growing industry with in excess of 25,000 hectares currently planted. Of that figure, about 5,000 is private plantation with the remainder being developed by Coillte. Fishing and mariculture are very important industries, too, and this is presently a growth sector. Ports such as Dingle, Valentia, Fenit, Maharees, Cromane and Kenmare are among the top twenty-five countrywide in order of value of fish landings.