The UK dairy herd hit a new record low last month after the largest annual decline in size since 2021.
Across the country, there were 1.57m dairy cows at the start of July, down 2.2% on the year before, according to the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB).
There are now concerns over a looming shortage of livestock in the future with youngstock – cows under 2 years old – down significantly from a peak in early 2023.
High beef prices and an improvement in sexed semen technology has triggered a reduction in dairy heifers being born. There was also a decline in the number of dairy cows over six years old as producers looked to cull older cows.
Yet despite the drop, GB milk volumes increased 3% in the 12 months to July. “This shows that despite a decrease in the size of the dairy herd, efficiency and productivity improvements have contributed to an increase in production,” said AHDB analyst Molly Corbett.
In March, the UK dairy sector set a new production record in the 2025/26 milk year, with deliveries hitting an all-time high of 13.02bn litres according to AHDB, up by 5% on the year before.
The rise was fuelled by cheap feed, but caused farmgate milk prices to plummet through the winter as milk processors struggled to keep a lid on excess milk volumes.
Recently, prices have begun to stabilise with major dairy processors Arla and Muller both committing to increase the prices they pay dairy producers for milk.
There could be more difficulties to come, however. Last week, organic dairy farmers warned they are under “severe pressure” from drought conditions with concerns over forage availability, winter feed security and farm profitability.
As a result, 86% of dairy producers are considering culling cows as a mitigation measure, ahead of extended grazing (65%) and buying additional forage (62%), according to a survey, by Kite Consulting and the Daykin Partnership.
