Movements of cows` population and milk yield in North-Western federal district of the Russian Federation

The article presents the results of studies of the movements of cows` population and milk yield in Northwestern Federal District of the Russian Federation in the context of regions, total and breeding stock. The authors conducted a comparative analysis for 2010-2022, made conclusions and determined the rating of regions in Northwestern Federal District and the Russian Federation. The studies were conducted based on statistical data from the Regions of Russia collection and the Annual Books on breeding work in dairy cattle keeping in farms of the Russian Federation. An assessment was made of the movements of cattle population of the total and breeding stock, including cows, the average milk yield per cow, and total milk production in Northwestern Federal District, its regions, and the Russian Federation as a whole for 2010, 2015, 2020, 2021 and 2022. With a decrease in the number of cattle and cows in the Russian Federation by 11.2-11.6%, an increase in milk production and milk yield per cow is observed by 4.7 and 37.6%, respectively. The leading regions of Northwestern Federal District in commercial and pedigree cattle breeding are the Leningrad and Vologda Regions, as they account for more than 70% of total milk production, more than 70% of breeding farms are located in these regions, the share of total and breeding livestock is more than 70%, and they have leading places in the ratings for milk yield per cow. The growth of the number of livestock and average milk yield of cows in these regions will cause a noticeable change in the dairy farming industry, and the development of dairy farming will lead to an increase in indicators throughout Northwestern Federal District.