May 18, 2007

EU cattle herd drops by 1.3 percent in 2006

Cattle numbers in the European Union (EU) as of December 2006 fell by 1.3 percent from 2005, to 84.8 million head, according to data from the European Market Survey.

The beef cow herd declined by 0.4 percent, to 12 million head, while cattle over two-years-old fell 9.2 percent, to 39 million head.

France posted a decrease in their total cattle herd for the year by 0.2 percent to 18.9 million head but beef cow rose 1.2 percent to 4 million head. Germany also recorded a fall of 2.5 percent in the total cattle herd, to 12.6 million head.

Cattle figures in Italy fell 1.9 percent to 6.3 million head, with their beef cow herd declining 11.2 percent, to 419,000 head.