Spain: Number of dairy cattle drops 8.2% in five years

To continue reading the article, log in with your account or sign up for MilkPoint. Get access to exclusive content! Dairy farming in Spain is experiencing an unprecedented structural crisis. The number of dairy cattle has been falling sharply for five years and, between January 2018 and January 2023, it was reduced by 70,443 heads, that is, 8.2% less. The number of heifers, in turn, on the farms has been timidly recovering since 2021, but there are still 8,266 animals less than in 2018, when 285,897 heads were counted. Farms in Spain have suffered one of the biggest price crises in the last two years. The increase in production costs led the sector to choose between producing below its production costs or slaughtering animals to supply slaughterhouses which, unlike milk, saw their prices rise considerably. Exodus This dramatic situation resulted in a massive closure of farms. One out of four producers left the activity, ...