December Survey – Livestock March 2, 2015 12:00 am The results from the December Survey of Agriculture for the UK and each of the devolved regions have now been published. The table below shows a summary of the UK results. The full figures can be found at – https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/farming-statistics-livestock-populations-at-1-december-2014-uk DECEMBER SURVEY OF AGRICULTURE – UK ‘000 Head Dec 2011 Dec 2012 Dec 2013 Dec 2014 % Change 14-15 CATTLE Dairy Breeding Herd 1,783 1,786 1,817 1,883 +3.7% Beef Breeding Herd 1,630 1,603 1,554 1,536 -1.2% SHEEP Total Breeding Flock 14,199 14,278 14,849 14,764 +3% PIGS Total Breeding Pigs 499 509 497 486 -2.1% Source: DEFRA The results from the Survey show that, despite lower milk prices, there is continued growth in the dairy breeding herd after falling for many years. However, the trend may be slowing as dairy cattle numbers between 1 and 2 years have fallen, albeit by only 0.1%. Beef breeding herd numbers have fallen yet again, a consistent trend seen over the past decade. The breeding sheep flock has increased once again by 3.0%. This is perhaps surprising after the lacklustre prices seen for the 2014 season. Breeding pig numbers have fallen for the second year in a row. Gilts in pig and gilts intended for first time breeding have also fallen by 3.7% and 1.3% respectively. Fattening pig numbers have increased by 3.5% to over 4 million head. The reducing number of breeding pig yet the rising number of fattening pigs shows the increasing productivity levels.
