November 21, 2007

UK's cattle numbers slip 2.5 percent to 10.3 million

Despite full results of EU's cattle census for the year to June are still on hold, provisional numbers indicate another decline.

The figures for the UK as collated by Eurostat reveal a drop of 1.2 percent in the number of dairy cows, with the national herd now standing at 1.96 million. Not so long ago that figure was substantially bigger than two million cows.

The UK suckler herd, which produces high-quality beef, also fell by just short of 2 percent, to 1.69 million. The total cattle herd fell by 2.5 percent to 10.3 million head.

On an EU-wide basis it is estimated that the total cattle herd has slipped by 1 per cent to 75 million. However, there were modest increases in both France and Poland.

The Irish Republic is a major exporter of beef to many destinations but judging from the figures, farmers are losing confidence. The total cattle herd in Ireland declined by 3 per cent to 6.71 million. This follows a similar fall in the previous year.

The decoupling of subsidies from output as part of the reforms of the Common Agricultural Policy is clearly having the effect of reducing production.

France -- where suckler cows increased by 1.7 percent to 4.15 million-- was virtually the only member state that retained direct support for its beef herd.

There are increasing concerns over the level of beef production in the EU as imports steadily increase. Most beef producers are making minimal profits from beef if the value of the single farm payment is discounted. A recent Quality Meat Scotland report revealed that the typical finisher is losing at least GBP10 per head.