September 14, 2022

Total breeding dairy herd in England down 0.7%

According to the UK Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) 1 June survey for 2022, the total dairy breeding herd for England decreased by 8,200 heads to 1.09 million, down 0.7% from June 2021 numbers, the UK Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB) reported.

Despite the fact that the milking herd has continued to shrink since 2015, it does so at a slower rate than the peak losses seen in 2020. Since 2020, youngstock numbers have also increased; as a result, this cohort has started to advance into the milking herd this year, which may have contributed to the lower losses observed.

However, as mentioned in AHDB's July outlooks, the demand from consumers and retailers in the future may have a greater impact on the size of the herd than the impact of high input prices.

The dairy breeding herd now accounts for 63% of England's total breeding herd, up 1% from 2021 and the highest proportion since at least 2005.

The number of "other female cattle" (those not in the milking herd) decreased by 12.900, or 9.9%, from just over 130,000 head to 117,500 head. This may have been caused by slim profit margins, which led to the removal of more unproductive animals from the herd to cut costs.

Overall, the total number of dairy animals (breeding herd, "other female cattle," and female youngstock) has remained stable as of 2021, and the rate of decline has been easing. Youngstock numbers, which have once again increased, will have had a big impact on this. Dairy animals under one year were up 2% (6,600 head) to 342,700 head, while dairy animals between one and two years were up 14,000 head (4.5%) to 323,000 head.

-      UK Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board