Dairy concentration fears despite cow number rise
The concentration of the Scottish dairy industry into fewer hands has continued with the latest figures showing there are now only 918 milking herds in Scotland. This is a drop of 39 from 12 months ago and it continues a trend stretching back more than 100 years.
According to the Scottish Dairy Cattle Association (SCDA), there were 5,735 dairy herds in Scotland in 1903 when records were first kept but since then there has been a movement into fewer, larger units.
This is confirmed with the latest SCDA figures showing the average number of milking cows per herd is now 195, up 14 on the previous year and now one of the highest in Europe.
The total number of cows being milked in Scotland is 178,928 which is the highest figure since 1997.
The largest dairying county continues to be Ayrshire with 35,698 cows closely followed by Dumfriesshire, Wigtownshire and Kirkcudbrightshire.
SDCA secretary Janette Mathie said: “We know of more herds intending to cease milk production
0 More animals in fewer herds is a long-term trend this year but we also know of entirely new herds starting, up as there were during 2017.”
She expected the overall trend of fewer herds and more cows would continue.
NFU Scotland vicepresident Gary Mitchell described the decline in the number of dairy farmers in Scotland as “disappointing” and said he worried about the loss of “critical mass of producers”, particularly in more remote areas.
He believed the latest statistics proved the dairy crisis of 2015-16 had been particularly damaging and had left many dairy farmers with little appetite for continuing to milk cows. Constantly dealing with volatility, difficulties in sourcing labour and the lack of a successor coming on who is prepared to milk cows will all have been factors in the decline in dairy farms,” he said.
Union milk policy manager George Jamieson added: “Even with the high levels of efficiency and one of the largest average herd size in Europe, Scottish dairy farmers are leaving due a combination of factors, but the lack of margin, and a feeling of being at the sharp end of volatility and supply chain competition is a key factor.”