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GB dairy population: Continued easing in the GB milking herd
Wednesday, 4 September 2024
The latest BCMS figures record the GB milking herd at 1.61 million head, as of the 1 July 2024. This is down 0.3% on the previous year, driven by decreases across all age categories apart from 2-4 years. The average age of a cow in the GB milking herd now stands at 4.55 years, very slightly younger than last year’s figure.
Looking into the different age categories, we saw the greatest change in the youngstock group (<2 years old) which decreased by 25,000 head. Heifers aged between 12-24 months were the greatest contributor to this year-on-year decline. On the flipside, we saw the 2-4 years category increase by nearly 16,000 head, growth that was likely driven by the calves born in the youngstock boom of 2021 now aging into the milking herd.
The latest data continues to illustrate the long term trend of declining numbers of older cows in the GB dairy herd, with a 8,000 head year on year decline in the 6-8 years category and a further 7,000 loss in cows over 8 years. This represents the continued move of the industry to focus on improving genetic potential, prioritising the younger, likely higher genetic merit cows.
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