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GB dairy population: The GB milking herd experiences further decline
Monday, 8 September 2025
The latest BCMS figures record the GB milking herd at 1.60 million head, as of the 1 July 2025. This is down 0.6% on the previous year, driven by the decline in the under 4 years of age categories.
The average age of a cow in the GB milking herd now stands at 4.57 years, very slightly older than last year’s figure.
Looking into the different age categories, we saw the greatest year-on-year change in younger age groups.
Heifers aged 2–4 years old recorded the largest decline of nearly 19,000 head, followed by those under 2 years, having experienced a drop of 16,000 head.
However, we saw the 4–6 years category increase by 15,000 head, easing some of the decline. This growth was likely driven by the calves born in the youngstock boom of 2021 now aging through the milking herd.
Cows aged 6–8 years saw a small increase of almost 1,000 head year-on-year but those over 8 years saw a decline of 7,000 head. This shows the continued trend of declining numbers of older cows in the GB dairy herd.
Despite an overall loss of 0.6% to the milking herd, this shows the move towards greater efficiency. The latest GB milk deliveries data reflects this, with improved volumes showing higher yields per cow.
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