Farms: Dairy Cow AGRARRIEGER/German Dairy Farming with useful Technique

Germany has around 12.9 million head of cattle in total, including 4.2 million dairy cows and 0.7 million suckler cows. Germany has the largest dairy cattle herd and the second largest cattle population in the European Union. More than 40 breeds are kept of which 80% belong to the major breeds German Holstein black and white and red and white, the German Fleckvieh (Simmental) and the German Braunvieh (Brown Swiss). The remaining 20% are shared by eight local rare breeds and by about 30 beef breeds. The diversity of the cattle breeds also shows the differences of the regional climate and the fodder availability from the north to the south. In the north and east German Holstein black and white and German Holstein red and white are the most common breeds. In the south Simmental and Brown Swiss Cattle are dominant.