December Survey of Livestock March 17, 2016 12:00 am The breeding herds of beef cattle and pigs have increased over the last 12 months, whilst the sheep flock is relatively static. These are the findings of the December Survey of Agriculture for the UK which has just 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-2015-uk DECEMBER SURVEY OF AGRICULTURE – UK ‘000 Head Dec 2012 Dec 2013 Dec 2014 Dec 2015 % Change 14-15 CATTLE Dairy Breeding Herd 1,786 1,817 1,883 1,918 +1.9% Beef Breeding Herd 1,603 1,554 1,536 1,551 +1.0% SHEEP Total Breeding Flock 14,286 14,337 14,617 14,614 +0% PIGS Total Breeding Pigs 509 497 486 501 +3.1% Source: DEFRA Despite the problems in the dairy industry the numbers in the dairy herd have grown for the fourth year in a row. However, the rate of cow cullings seems to be on the increase and we would expect the next June survey to show a fall. The number of cows in the beef breeding herd has increased for the first time since 2010. A decade ago, in 2005, the beef breeding herd was around 1,750,000 head. The breeding sheep flock has barely changed compared to last year; the first time since 2009 it has not increased. Breeding pig numbers have proven robust despite the low prices seen through the 2015 year.
