Dairy farmer numbers to decline but holdings to grow
Around 15% of dairy farmers said they would exit milk production over the next two years. A further 32% said they would exit over the following 3-10 years. This is in line with earlier analysis by Teagasc economists, which projected a drop in the number of dairy farmers from 26,500 at present to 18,000 by 2012.
However, the survey findings published yesterday show three out of every five dairy farmers intending to remain in production plan to increase their herd size by an average of 20 cows.
