There has been a further fall in Britain's milking herd according to the latest data from British Cattle Movement Service.
The milking herd stood at 1.7 million head as of 1 April 2020, down 2.9% (-50,700 head) from the same point last year.
Looking at the data, AHDB Dairy said the number of cows in the 2-4 years age category was the largest contributor to the decline.
This was down -37,300 head from the same time in April 2019, the levy board added.
This followed the trend seen recently as the lower number of calves born 2-4 years ago come through the herd.
There was also a decline in the number of cows aged 6-8 years old (-17,900 head), AHDB explained.
Offsetting this slightly was the number of cows aged 4-6yrs, which was up by 6,000 head compared to April 2019.
"These figures follow herd trends of previous years," said Jennie Tanner, AHDB Dairy analyst.
"While the number of youngstock (0-2yrs) dropped by 700 head on the year, an increase in numbers aged 0-6mths (+5,200 head), helped to slow the overall decline in youngstock numbers."
