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Milk production increased slightly

News
Posted on 25 January 2018, 10:00
According to the preliminary data of Statistics Estonia, the production of milk amounted to 791,800 tonnes in 2017, which is 1% more than the year before. The number of dairy cows increased slightly by the end of the year and also the average annual milk production per cow increased.

On 31 December 2017, the number of bovines in Estonia was 251,300, including 88,400 dairy cows. Compared to the same time of the previous year, the number of bovines increased by 1% and the number of dairy cows by 0.3%. The number of dairy cows has shown a downward trend over the past twenty years, with small increases in between. Today, it is again increasing slightly. At the same time, the average milk yield per cow has continuously increased. In 2017, the average milk yield per cow was 9,159 kilograms, i.e. 281 kilograms more than in 2016.

At the end of the year, there were 284,500 pigs and 86,800 sheep and goats in Estonia. The number of pigs increased by 7% and the number of sheep and goats decreased by 4% compared to the same time in 2016. At the end of the year, there were 2.2 million poultry, which is 3% more than at the end of 2016.

In 2017, the production of eggs amounted to 202.5 million, which is 2% more than in 2016. 106,200 tonnes (live weight) of livestock and poultry were sold for slaughter (incl. exports) and slaughtered in holdings; the production of meat (live weight) decreased by 9% compared to the previous year. The production of beef, pork, mutton and goat meat decreased, while the production of poultrymeat increased.

Milk production per cow, 1994–2017

The statistics are based on the data of the register of farm animals of the Agricultural Registers and Information Board (ARIB) and on the data of Estonian Livestock Performance Recording Ltd, which by using models have been converted to the format necessary for producing statistics. In addition, the data of statistical questionnaires “Poultry. Quarter” and “Pigs. Quarter” have been used, the deadline of which was 8 January 2018. Statistics Estonia published the preliminary yearly summary of livestock farming in 12 working days. For the statistical activity “Livestock farming and meat production”, the main representative of public interest is the Ministry of Rural Affairs, commissioned by whom Statistics Estonia collects and analyses the data necessary for conducting this statistical activity.