Ten years ago there were 2.25 million dairy cows in the UK. Figures released today, from DEFRA’s provisional June Census, show that the total dairy breeding herd fallen by 20% to 1.8 million cows in the last twelve months.
That means we now have roughly one cow for every 33 people in the UK. I wonder which cow produced your milk today? To find more statistics on UK livestock numbers and land use, visit www.defra.gov.uk/statistics/foodfarm/landuselivestock/junesurvey/.