Livestock husbandry, 31 December 2000, preliminary figures

From 1999 to 2000 the number of holdings with dairy cows went down from 22 400 to 20 400. Almost one out of seven holdings with dairy cows has wounded up over the past year. At the same time the number of dairy cows has dropped by 6 per cent, to 298 700 animals at 31 December 2000.

Fewer holdings with dairy goats, sheep and pigs

Since 1990, the number of dairy goats has dropped by more than 20 per cent, to 50 700, while the number of herds of dairy goats has decreased by more than 40 per cent, to barely 675 holdings in the same period.

The number of sheep farms is also sinking. In five years one out of six sheep farms has came to an end, leaving barely 21 300 farms with sheep in 2000. There were 1.11 million winter-fed sheep on these holdings.

In 1990-2000 one out of three holdings with pigs wounded up, and in just the last year the number of holdings with pigs declined from 5 800 to 4 900. 1999 to 2000 also saw a pronounced decline in the number of breeding and slaughtering pigs.

Larger herds

An average milk production holding had 14.7 dairy cows in 2000. The corresponding figure for 1990 was 12.2. In 2000 around 45 per cent of the holdings had 15 or more dairy cows, while three years earlier only 35 per cent had such large herds.

The average goat farm had 75 dairy goats in 2000, against 59 a decade ago. Furthermore, there were 53 winter-fed sheep per holding in 2000, while the corresponding figure for 1990 was 40. A holding with pigs for breeding had an average of 12 breeding pigs in 1990, while the average for 2000 was 32.

Thirty-three million chickens were slaughtered in 2000. This is 5.6 million more than the year before, and 18 million more than in 1990.

Tables:

• Table 1 Holdings keeping domestic animals of various kinds per 31 December 2000*, by county
• Table 2 Cattle and sheep per 31 December, by county
• Table 3 Domestic animals per 31 December, by county
• Table 4 Holdings with various kinds of domestic animals per 31 December, by size of herd