The Farmers’ Union of Wales (FUW) is looking forward to celebrating the dairy industry at this year’s Welsh Dairy Show, held on Tuesday, October 25, 2022, at the Carmarthen Showground.
Speaking ahead of the event, FUW milk and dairy produce committee chairman Dei Davies said:
“The dairy industry across Wales is worth celebrating and we are certainly looking forward to that at this year’s Welsh Dairy Show in Carmarthen.
“Despite a fall in dairy cattle numbers over the past 25 years and there being 15% less dairy cattle in Wales compared to 1996, as well as a decrease in dairy holdings, which have fallen by 18% since 2011, the industry continues to deliver sustainable, nutritious food.”
Davies highlighted that the UK produced 15.3 billion litres of milk in 2020, the highest annual figure since 1990 which is largely attributed to the average annual milk yield per cow in 1975 having doubled from 4,100L to 8,200L in 2020.
“There is also a notable shift in dairy herd size in Wales increasing from 75 head of cattle in 2011 to 106 head in 2021.
“These figures prove that our dairy industry is continuing to deliver the good stuff despite the decrease in national herd size,” he said.
In addition, Davies stressed that the sector has done incredibly well to adapt to the relentless cost of production and that dairy farming has evolved over the last 30 years to become more efficient.
“Across the board improvements to animal health, welfare and genetics have further streamlined our cattle to be amongst the most efficient herds in the world.
“If the global herd was as efficient as UK cattle in producing milk, there could potentially be a 70% reduction in global cattle numbers to produce an equal volume of milk.
“Our dairy farmers have widened their scope, taking on advice and experiences from all over the world coupled with incorporating scientific research into everyday farming practices to improve milk yields which has led to the success of Wales’s dairy industry.”
