Livestock sector suffers big fall in numbers

Further falls in both the national dairy cattle and sheep breeding populations are anticipated in the current year, says Eblex.

Its analyses show that between 2004 and 2009, the national sheep breeding flock declined by fully 15 per cent – from more than 16 million to less than 14 million ewes. At the same time, the national cattle breeding herd fell from comfortably over 3.8 million to under 3.5 million cows – a decline of just under 10 per cent, mainly in the dairy population.

However, the rate of decline in breeding ewe numbers fell to one per cent last year, mainly as a result of improv-ed lamb prices, says Eblex's senior economic analyst, Mark Topliff. A similar fall is expected over 2010, due to very good cull ewe prices and the impact of EID, before ewe numbers stabilise in 2011.

Having declined by 13 per cent since 2004, dairy cow numbers are projected to continue falling over the coming two years as lack of sufficient milk price optimism and underlying issues over succession and staffing continue to take their toll.

In contrast, the far smaller fall (around five per cent) in the national beef breeding herd stabilised over the past year and the number is expected to continue stable in 2010 and 2011, thanks to improved store cattle values and ex-dairy farmers moving into suckler production.

n The European farmers' federation Copa-Cogeca says an average drop of 11.6 per cent in EU farm incomes in 2009 included a 30 per cent drop in cereals earnings, 24 per cent in olive oil, 21 per cent in dairy and 12 per cent in fruit.

General secretary Pekka Pesonen said: "This situation is not sustainable. Even before the current crisis, farm incomes were on average only 50 per cent of average earnings in other sectors."