New statistics show an overall decrease of dairy herds in Scotland, down 4817 since records began.
In Scotland, there are now only 918 dairy herds compared to 5735 herds when records began in 1903, which is a drop of a staggering 4817.
January 2018 dairy herd statistics for Scotland released by the Scottish Dairy Cattle Association (SDCA) compared to January 2017 show an overall decrease of 39 herds.
The largest dairying county continues to be Ayrshire, with 35698 cows closely followed by Dumfriesshire, Wigtownshire and Kirkcudbrightshire.
However, the statistics show an increase of 5622 milking cows.
The average herd size has now increased to 195, up 14 on the year and is the highest on record. Total milking cows now stand at 178928, the highest since 1997.
Dairy herds that are officially milk recorded have increased on the year by 110 to 657 partly due to an EU incentive but also due to milk buyers and farmers realising the financial benefits of improving milk quality and lowering cell counts, as well as the other benefits of pregnancy checking and disease monitoring.
Commenting, Janette Mathie the secretary of the SDCA said: "During 2018 we know of more herds intending to cease milk production this year but we also know of entirely new herds starting, up as there were during 2017, but the overall trend of less herds and more cows will continue."
