UK producer numbers: decline slows but higher milk volumes indicate further consolidation

In our latest survey of milk buyers, it is estimated that there were 7,200 dairy producers in GB as of October 2024. A small reduction of 30 producers was estimated since our last survey in April. In contrast, there was an estimated annual loss of 300 producers (-4.0%) since October 2023, indicating that the majority of industry exits took place last winter. Continued pressure on margins may have incentivised some of the decline last winter, alongside robust cull cow prices. However, better prices through the summer this year may have stemmed the flow of people exiting the industry for now. The latest numbers suggests that the average milk volume per farm in GB has now risen to 1.7 million litres per year, showing the continued trend towards fewer but larger farms. With milk prices increasing since April, we expect the recent increase in GB milk production to continue for the remainder of the season. Historic data can be found on our producer numbers page. AHDB’s estimate ...