4. Size groups … - 4 5 - 10 11 - 50 51 - 100 101 - 300 300 - 900 900 - … TOTAL Source: ARIB 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 There are still many small herds The owners of small herds (4–10 cows) constitute the majority of livestock producers (67.9%). Only 7.7% of livestock farmers own large dairy farms, but the bulk of dairy cattle (nearly 70%) are kept on large farms of over 100 cows (Table 6). The number of small herd owners is constantly decreasing due to the increasingly stricter requirements that are imposed on farms <strong>and</strong> milk quality. Small herd owners cannot comply with the increased regulation as it requires large investments in barn reconstruction <strong>and</strong> the acquisition of modern milk production machinery. Research carried out by the Estonian Agricultural University <strong>and</strong> the Jäneda Training <strong>and</strong> Advisory Centre in 1999 indicated that the three major cost articles of milk producers are feedstuff, labour <strong>and</strong> social tax, <strong>and</strong> fuel, which account for 70% of all production costs. The share of feedstuff costs is larger in small herds (11–50 cows) <strong>and</strong> smaller in herds of 100 cows. The same holds true for fuel costs. Larger herds provide the opportunity for more cost effective production of milk. Pork is the main meat produced in Estonia TABLE 6. Number of cows subjected to performance testing <strong>and</strong> herd size TABLE 7. Source: ESO Meat production 151,8 107,9 83,7 69,4 67,7 58,6 53,4 60,0 61,1 52,7 Number of herds 1 246 934 691 94 169 70 7 3 211 % 38,8 29,1 21,5 2,9 5,3 2,2 0,2 100,0 2 859 6 573 13 853 6 923 29 755 32 249 10 181 102 393 Meat production ('000 t) Beef 52,0 45,4 42,6 31,0 25,8 22,1 19,0 19,3 21,7 15,4 Pork 75,2 50,1 34,7 30,5 35,4 31,7 29,5 32,4 31,3 30,3 Number of cows Sheep <strong>and</strong> goat meat 2,2 1,8 1,2 1,3 0,8 0,5 0,5 0,4 0,4 0,4 % 2,8 6,4 13,5 6,8 29,1 31,5 9,9 100,0 Poultry meat 22,1 10,3 5,1 6,5 5,6 4,3 4,4 7,9 7,7 … The main meat produced in Estonia is pork, which accounted for 55% of the total meat production in 2000. Beef takes the second position with 28%, followed by poultry meat, 16%, <strong>and</strong> sheep <strong>and</strong> goat meat, 1%. The total meat production in Estonia was 182,000 tonnes in 1990 <strong>and</strong> 51,000 tonnes in 2000; a reduction of 72%. One of the major reasons for the decreased production was the substantially decreased dem<strong>and</strong> on the eastern market, as well as the low purchasing prices on the domestic market (Table 7). Pork production fell sharply in 1993 <strong>and</strong> has since remained relatively stable. The number of pigs has remained around 300,000. The majority of pigs, 85%, are kept in large agricultural enterprises. Of pigs entered in the register of farm animals, the majority are purebred Yorkshire pigs (42%) <strong>and</strong> l<strong>and</strong>race pigs (24%), which are equal for their meat qualities. Thirty-three per cent of the pigs are cross-bred <strong>and</strong> their number is increasing. The quality of pork has improved. According to performance testing data, the lean meat content in the pigs subjected to testing was 58% (the recommended rate is 59-60%). As from 1 July 2000 the European Union adopted the decision to abolish pork export subsidies <strong>and</strong> granted Estonia a customs-fee export quota. Latvia also abolished its export restrictions. These steps should stimulate pork export. The low purchasing prices of beef have not stimulated producers to fatten bovines for sale <strong>and</strong> the majority of bull calves are killed at an age younger than one month. Since the second half of 2000, the purchasing prices of beef increased, but did not result in growing beef sales. However, the interest of livestock farmers in beef cattle has increased <strong>and</strong> production can be expected to grow slowly. The production of sheep meat has remained at a level of 400 tonnes. The interest of processors <strong>and</strong> traders in purchasing sheep meat is great, because the export price of sheep meat is up to 92 EEK/kg. The increased meat price has also stimulated interest in sheep keeping, <strong>and</strong> the number of sheep increased to 31,400 by the end of 2000. Sheep farming in Estonia was also stimulated by the ewe support that was introduced in 1999. As a result, the marking <strong>and</strong> registration of sheep has begun in order to assure the receipt of support for sheep farming. Poultry meat production in 2000 amounted to 8,100 tonnes, of which 75% came from Estonia's largest poultry meat producer AS Tallegg. Dem<strong>and</strong> for poultry meat has increased in Estonia. Although the poultry meat production of Tallegg increased 13% in 2000, there is still ample room for development before producers for the domestic market can fully meet the dem<strong>and</strong>s <strong>and</strong> the need for importing this type of meat reduced. 18
5. Young people are interested in agricultural higher education Jäneda Training <strong>and</strong> Advisory Centre 19