The increasingly intensive EU dairy sector: What will happen in the next decade?

Published 2022년 12월 14일

Tridge summary

The article provides an overview of the evolution and future projections of milk production in the European Union (EU). It highlights the increasing specialization and intensification of EU dairy farming, with a majority of milk production concentrated in intensive systems and larger farms. This trend has led to higher productivity, but also a reduction in the dairy herd, contributing to a slight annual decrease in total milk production, expected to be more pronounced in EU-14 countries. The future outlook includes potential environmental restrictions further reducing the dairy herd, though alternative production systems may grow. Production increases are anticipated, but not at the same rate as in the past.

Disclaimer:The above summary was generated by Tridge's proprietary AI model for informational purposes.

Original content

Over the years, EU milk production has become highly intensified and specialized. In 2020, around 80% of milk in the EU was produced in intensive systems (more than 1.4 livestock units per hectare), while more than 93% came from specialized farms, with a lower proportion in the countries of the eastern EU (for example, in the Czech Republic 64%, Slovakia 67%, Hungary 76% and Poland 88%), according to the European Commission's medium-term forecast report for the agricultural sectors. This transformation was further differentiated by the availability of capital investment, reliance on purchased feed (more than 30% of total farm costs on average), and reduced demand for hired labor due to faster processes. automated and higher labor requirements. In parallel, EU dairy farms have become larger (58 cows per farm in 2020 compared to 38 in 2010), are more reliant on compound feeds and are characterized by more controlled production conditions (e.g. computerized feeding, milking robots, ...

Source: Agrodigital