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Dairy farmers lose more than 3p on every litre of milk they produce
07.02.2011 08:53 "Agro Perspectiva" (Kyiv) —
A new report from the NFU shows that dairy farmers lose an average of more than 3p for every litre of milk that they produce. According to the unions report, about 11bn litres of milk are produced annually on dairy farms across the UK, meaning that farmers are looking at a £330m funding gap.
The gloomy figures will heighten fears more dairy farmers will go out of business. The sector is already contracting at an alarming rate. According to new figures from the Milk Development Council, the number of dairy producers in England and Wales in December 2010 stood at 11,041, a decline of 461 on the year before. Farmers in Wales were particularly badly hit, with 103 dairy farms going out of business in 2010. As recently as 2002 there were 19,000 dairy producers in England and Wales. The NFU report shows that the costs of feed and bedding have increased by 16.6pc and 13.8pc respectively over the past year. The price of blended fertiliser rose by 50pc between November 2009 and November 2010.
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