Milk yield up
There was good news from the dairy sector with the average milk yield per cow per year continuing to rise. It now averages 4,947 litres per cow which is an increase of 4.1% year on year. This rise can be attributed to the use of world class genetics through the import of international Jersey bull semen from around the world. In addition, despite over production in world milk supplies, the Jersey Dairy has continued to develop export markets for value added products in countries such as India, Hong Kong and Japan.
More challenging for Jersey Royals
2015 was not such a good year as 2014 for Jersey Royals with the level of exports down from 31,000 tonnes to 29,500 tonnes with a drop in value from £29M to £27.5M. The drop in exports was in part due to the cool wet conditions in May (some parts of the UK had more than double the average, with the overall rainfall being 158% of average) and in part due to the competition from regional and imported potatoes available on the shelf at a very competitive retail price. The lower demand meant that some growers had to leave some fields as the tubers were too large for the market and some fields were ploughed back in unharvested.
A good year for cider
The top fruit area continues to grow and the year saw a further increase of 17% in area. This area mainly consists of cider apple orchards for cider and spirit production. The 275 vergées of orchards is an impressive increase of 43% since 2012. The area cropped with organic fruit and vegetables increased by 13% which was mainly due to a change in use from organic grassland. The total area of organic crops fell by 13% to 973 vergées.
Full Agricultural Statistics Report 2015
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