The cattle population in Europe is at its lowest level in more than 20 years

Despite higher producer prices for meat and milk, farmers in the European Union reduced their cattle stocks again last year. According to data from the Statistical Office of the European Union (Eurostat), a total of 75.65 million cattle were kept in the 27 Member States in November and December 2021; that was around 844,000 units or 1.1% fewer than in the previous year. The herd of cattle has thus fallen to its lowest level in more than 20 years. Developments in the two largest producing countries, France and Germany, are particularly responsible for the recent decline in cattle farming in the Community. In the neighboring country, the population fell by 485,600 animals or 2.7% to 17.33 million; in Germany the number of cattle fell by 262,200 or 2.3% to 11.04 million animals. Even higher rates of decrease of between 3.0% and 4.1% were reported from Portugal, Hungary and Romania. By contrast, the reduction in stocks was more moderate in Belgium, Denmark and Spain, each at around ...