Cow & Farms Data

Dairy farms are located in all states of Australia. However, most of Australia's milk production takes place in the south-east corner of the country.

South-east Australia’s climate and natural resources are generally favourable to dairying and allow the industry to be predominantly pasture-based. In an average year, approximately 60%–65% of cattle feed requirements in south-eastern Australia comes from grazing. This results in cost efficient, high-quality milk production.

Most farms are in coastal areas where pasture growth is generally reliant on rainfall. Nevertheless, there are several inland dairying areas reliant on irrigation, most notably in northern Victoria and the New South Wales Riverina.

Farm numbers

Since 1979-80 the number of dairy farms in Australia has fallen by almost three quarters, to 5,055 in 2019–20. The trend in farm numbers has previously followed changes in farmgate milk prices from season to season. Strong prices tend to either slow the rate of attrition or even reverse the long-term trend. Periods of weaker farmgate prices and/or adverse seasonal conditions can accelerate the trend, as more farmers choose to sell their properties, or transition to other farming activities such as beef cattle production.

Nevertheless, falling farm numbers reflect a trend in agriculture around the world. Changing business practices have encouraged a shift to larger, more intensive farming systems with greater economies of scale.

Number of registered dairy farms in Australia

YEAR	NSW	VIC	QLD	SA	WA	TAS	AUST
1979–80	3,601	11,467	3,052	1,730	622	1,522	21,994
1989–90	2,220	8,840	1,970	969	496	901	15,396
1999–00	1,725	7,806	1,545	667	419	734	12,896
2005–06	1,024	5,892	802	383	245	498	8,844
2006–07	924	5,346	734	354	222	475	8,055
2007–08	886	5,422	664	332	186	463	7,953
2008–09	860	5,462	648	320	183	451	7,924
2009–10	820	5,159	621	306	165	440	7,511
2010–11	807	4,588	595	286	170	437	6,883
2011–12	778	4,556	555	275	162	444	6,770
2012–13	731	4,284	518	268	160	437	6,398
2013-14	710	4,268	475	264	156	435	6,308
2014–15	704	4,127	448	252	157	440	6,128
2015-16	690	4,141	421	246	151	430	6,079
2016–17	661	3,998	406	240	148	427	5,771
2017–18	626	3,881	393	228	159	412	5,699
2018–19	575	3,516	356	212	150	404	5,213
2019–20 (p)	534	3,462	327	206	135	391	5,055

Source: State Milk Authorities

Herd size

While the number of farms across Australia has decreased, the average herd size is growing. In 1985 the average herd size was 93 cows and in 2019–20 it had grown to 279. There is also an emerging trend of large farm operations of more than 700 dairy cattle.

Despite the increase in average herd sizes over the longer term, one of the variables placing a limitation on total milk production in recent years has been a decreasing national herd. One factor contributing to this situation is the increased volatility in farm cash incomes. This has led many farmers to participate in the export heifer trade or sell dairy cows for slaughter in an attempt to stabilise farm income. In 2019/20 the national herd decreased as a challenging start to the year resulted in an increase in farm exits and a move to smaller herd sizes on many farms.

The dominant breed in Australia is the Holstein, accounting for around two thirds of all dairy cattle. Other important breeds include the Jersey, the Holstein/Jersey cross, Brown Swiss, Ayrshire and local breeds, the Australian Red and the Illawarra.

Number of dairy cows in Australia

YEAR	NSW	VIC	QLD	SA	WA	TAS	AUST
At March 31
1979–80	311	1,047	247	103	71	103	1,880
1989–90	238	968	201	89	64	92	1,654
1999–00	289	1,337	195	105	65	139	2,171
New Series
2005–06	222	1,217	127	104	67	143	1,880
2006–07	210	1,150	121	114	60	140	1,796
2007–08	195	1,055	100	103	54	134	1,641
2008–09	201	1,061	107	106	52	149	1,676
2009–10	203	1,014	98	92	55	134	1,596
2010–11	195	1,010	97	90	59	138	1,589
2011–12	204	1,115	101	76	57	148	1,700
2012–13	210	1,096	96	77	62	148	1,688
2013-14	181	1,093	98	73	66	137	1,647
2014–15	177	1,147	91	68	59	147	1,689
2015-16	182	1,005	89	78	60	149	1,562
2016–17	164	975	86	71	64	160	1,520
2017–18	166	1,023	85	67	56	149	1,547
2018–19	149	898	78	72	56	175	1,428
2019–20 (e)	145	895	65	69	54	182	1,411

Source: ABS and Dairy Australia

Supplementary feeding

Total mixed ration (TMR) dairying continues to be less common in Australia, but the use of supplementary feed – grains, hay and silage – is widespread. Supplementary feeding has increased significantly over the past decade as farmers adapt to drier conditions. Such changes in production systems have introduced an added input cost and additional level of risk in the variability of farm returns.

The 2020 Dairy Australia National Dairy Farmer Survey showed that nearly all dairy farmers engaged in some level of supplementary feeding. In 2019/20 the national average was around 1.7 tonnes per cow per year, up slightly from the previous year. Feeding moderate to high levels of concentrates remains the most common feed system and in 2019/20 supplementary feeding increased in all regions. Supplementary feeding grew especially strongly in South Australia, to an average of 2.1 tonnes
per cow per year.