Dairy production: the current situation

Cattle:numbers on the decline

In 2023, 28,745 farms supplied 1,878,620 qualified lactations in this cattle sector. “With a 5.6% decline in the number of farms and a 4.6% drop in qualified lactations, these figures confirm the trend observed over the last few years”, summarizes the Institut de l'élevage, which also notes that the 3 main national breeds (Prim'Holstein, Montbéliarde and Normande) account for almost 90% of total qualified lactations.

Goats: increase in primiparous cows

“Overall, the number of qualified lactations falls in 2023 to 226,442 lactations (-7,059 lactations or -3%). At the same time, with 1,456 farms (-0.7%), the number of herds with qualified lactations decreases slightly” notes the Institut de l'Elevage, which also notes that the 2 main breeds (Alpine and Saanen) account for 96.7% of the total number of lactations taken into account. “The proportion of primiparous goats in qualified lactations reaches 37.2% (+0.6%), confirming the upward trend observed since 2018” and ‘with 1023 kg per lactation (+10kg), the 2023 results confirm that average production per goat is now above the 1000 kg mark (1002 kg in 2022)’, notes the Institut.

Sheep: numbers down, production up

“The total number of ewes present at farrowing stands at 339,610, a slight fall of 1,371 (-0.4%), mainly due to the drop in the number of flocks monitored, while the number of ewes with lactation calculations is also down, to 285,852, a fall of 4,069 (-1.4%) which almost completely cancels out the increase in numbers (+1.6%) observed the previous year” notes the Institut de l'élevage. However, average milk production rose to 304.6 liters (+6.8 liters) for a milking duration of 172 days, identical to the previous year.

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