The German pig population has remained more or less the same after years of decline. However, the decline in the number of pig farms continues. Meanwhile, the dairy herd is declining slightly, while the number of dairy farmers is declining more sharply.
In total, the number of pigs in Germany fell by only 1.200 head in May, according to data from German statistics agency Destatis. In previous years, the pig herd took significant steps backwards. The number of fattening pigs fell by 3,2% or 308.100 to 9,4 million. The number of piglets was 6,3 million and the country had a total of about 3,8 million young fattening pigs. Compared to May 2022, the number of pigs has decreased by 6,2% or 1,4 million.
However, the number of pig farmers is still shrinking consistently. In May, Germany had 15.700 pig farms. That is a decrease of 600 or 3,4%. In May 2022, the country still had 17.900 pig farms. The number of companies has decreased by 12,34% or 2.200 companies.
Dairy herd is declining
Meanwhile, the dairy herd declined slightly more sharply. In total, the number of dairy cows fell from 4.337.720 to 4.296.683. That is a decrease of 1,2%. Just like on the pig market, the number of dairy farms is declining faster than the dairy herd. In May 2023, Germany still had 50.870 dairy farms. This year the number of companies fell to 49.452. That is a decrease of 2,2%.