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Dairy calf registrations: More calves born in Q4 means a stable GB dairy herd size
Tuesday, 12 March 2024
In the fourth quarter of 2023 calf registrations to dairy dams in GB totalled 359,000 head. This is an increase of 3,800 head (1.1%) compared to the same period of the previous year.
Looking at the full year data for 2023, registrations were flat compared to 2022 at 1.51 million head. Year on year increases in Q1 and Q4 were balanced by declines in Q2 and Q3.
BCMS data also showed stability in the GB milking herd, with a slight increase in the number of younger cows driving down the average age of a dairy cow.
We can see illustrated in the registrations data the continued move of more farms to block calving systems. Comparing to the five-year average we see that registrations in Q3 of 2023 were up almost 12,000 (2.8%) head, whilst Q2 was down 4,600 (1.5%). This shows the change in systems with more calves born to dairy dams in the autumn and less in the summer, compared to historic norms.
GB monthly births to dairy dams
Source: BCMS
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