DairyCo

Average Milk Yield

Published 20 August 12

• Provisional figures for 2011/12 show that the average milk yield has increased by 241 litres per cow from 2010/11.

• The average yield per cow stood at 7,617 in 2011/12, according to provisional data.
• There was a provisional 2.0% fall in the national herd size over the period, to 1.81m in 2011/12.

The latest provisional figures from Defra show a 3.3% (241 litres per cow) increase in the average yield per cow from 2010/11, to 7,617 litres per cow in 2011/12.

Total herd size fell by 37,000, to 1.81m over the period. However the increase in milk yield far offset the fall in the number of dairy cattle, which led to an overall 163m litre increase in the total level of milk produced in the UK, to 13.8 billion litres.

¹please note that total milk production (in the table below and used to calculate average yield) is based on all milk produced on farm, including the milk which is delivered to dairies, milk used on farm in the production of dairy products, milk consumed in farm households, milk fed to livestock and farm waste, suckled milk is excluded.

²From 1999/00 to 2004/05 the average size of the dairy herd is estimated by taking the size of the herd at June and December from the agricultural census information, and calculating the population trends during the remaining months of the year. The average herd size shown in the table below is therefore consistent with, but not the same as, Defra's published agricultural census data. From 2005/06 data is obtained through the Cattle Tracing System (CTS).

The average yields have to be taken with a degree of caution as they are based only on the total milk production recorded divided by the size of the dairy herd.

Average Milk Yields by Milk Year

* Leap Year **Provisional
Source: DEFRA

Average Milk Yields by Calendar Year

Annual data shows that the average yield per cow increased between 2010 and 2011. Figures for 2011 show that the average milk yield per calendar year has increased by 260 litres per cow per annum (3.6%) to 7,533 litres per cow per annum. The average yield in 2011 was 18.7% (1,187 litres per cow per annum) higher than ten years previously when the average stood at 6,346 litres per cow per annum.

For more information on average milk yields click here.

* Adjusted for leap year
Source: DEFRA