German dairy herd falls to lowest point in 10 years

In Germany, the number of dairy cows shrank by 2,3% last year to 4,1 million, according to figures from the German statistical office Destatis. Due to the contraction, the size of the dairy herd has fallen to the lowest point in 10 years.

The dairy herd in Germany has been declining since 2015, but the number of animals has remained more or less the same over the past year. This year there is clearly a downward trend again.

Shrinkage in Bayern
In the German state Bayern most dairy cows are kept; however, the shrinkage of 2,6% to 1,15 million dairy cows is above average. In the states of Lower Saxony (-1,9% to 849.000) and North Rhine-Westphalia (-1,9% to 409.000), both of which border the Netherlands, the contraction is more moderate. The aforementioned federal states form the backbone of German dairy farming, as more than half of the number of dairy cows is kept there. 

The dairy herd shows a contraction, especially in the second half of 2018. The reason for this is probably the prolonged drought in the summer of 2018, which has made feed and roughage more expensive. Given that milk prices were mainly cost-effective in the past year, this cannot have been an incentive to cut the livestock.

Decreasing number of companies 
Another reason for the shrinking dairy herd is the decrease in the number of dairy farms in Germany. In 1 year, the number of companies decreased by 4,5% to 62.813 in November. During that time, the average number of cows increased by 1,5% to 65,3 cows per farm. About 10 years ago this was 42,5 cows per farm.

The contraction has recently also been reflected in the German milk supply. In October, the milk supply dropped below the 2017 level for the first time; the contraction was approximately 0,5% to 2,614 million tons. Weekly production figures in the months of November and December were also below the level of 2017.

Wouter Job

Wouter Baan is editor-in-chief of Boerenbusiness. He also focuses on dairy, pig and meat markets. He also follows (business) developments within agribusiness and interviews CEOs and policymakers.

w.baan@boerenbusiness. Nl

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