GB milking herd continues to shrink

 The largest contributor to the decline was the lower number of cows aged 2-4 years (-42,500 head). This follows the current trend, as the lower number of calves on the ground 2-4 years ago works its way up through the age brackets.

There was also a decline in the number of cows aged 6-8 years (-15,800 head). Offsetting this slightly was the number of cows aged 4-6 years, which was up by 10,500 head compared to January 2019. Again, these figures follow herd trends of previous years.

While the number of youngstock (0-2 years) dropped by 5,700 head on the year, an increase in numbers aged 0-6 months (+1,800 head), helped to slow the overall decline in youngstock numbers.

The slowing rate of decline in youngstock numbers suggests some future stabilisation of the GB milking herd size.