SIR, – As a retired dairy farmer, I was interested to read the list of top 20 dairy farms in Scotland in last week’s edition of The Scottish Farmer.
The average herd size in Scotland is around 191 cows, but only one herd of below average size was listed in the top 20. If my memory (not infallible) serves me correctly, there has always been a low number of below average-sized herds in the list in the last few years.
Arithmetic indicates that there are many more herds below 191 cows than above, as one herd of 400 cows requires to be balanced by four herds at 139 cows to produce an average herd size of 191. So why are smaller herds so poorly represented in the top 20?
Only around 70% of herds in Scotland are milk recorded and no doubt most large herds are recorded, but this does not wholly account for such a poor representation of smaller herds in the top 20.
Are larger herds managed that much better than smaller herds? Is there a bias against smaller herds in the competition, or would a separate competition for smaller herds be appropriate?
Stewart Jamieson
Dumfries.
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