One in ten dairy farms in England and Wales have closed in the last three years, according to new figures released by the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB).
The board said 1,002 dairy farms had closed since June 2013, which means the number of producers in England and Wales stands at 9,538.
Wales saw a decrease of seven producers on the month and the North and Midlands decreased by five producers each.
NFU dairy board member David Shaw described the current state of UK dairy as 'unsustainable' when many farmers were seeing the prices paid for their milk being cut.
NFU Scotland’s Policy Manager George Jamieson said: "Dairy producers are currently carrying too much of the burden and have not benefited enough from the opportunities."
The highest loss by any county was North Yorkshire, which saw 89 farms disappear, the equivalent of one in seven.
Selling cattle
In May, a large dairy operation in Pembrokeshire with a history dating back over 100 years announced they were selling 700 cattle as the situation had become unbearable.
A spokesman for the company said: "Over the years the dairy herds have performed very well producing high milk yields at competitive cost but the downturn in farmgate prices over the past two years coupled with a depressing medium to long term outlook for dairy farming forced the business to look very carefully at the prospects for the sector.
Company chairman Christopher Wilson said: "My family has been farming in eastern England for four generations, well over 100 years, and for two generations in Wales and it is sad for us that we are leaving Wales but we cannot ignore the market place.
"Despite our best efforts we have reluctantly concluded that we cannot continue under these circumstances."
There are similar situations across the UK.
In Aberdeen, the future of a dairy plant was put into question when Muller Milk and Ingredients entered into a consultation over the closure of its processing site putting 89 jobs at risk.
The closure of the processing sites immediately impact surrounding dairy farmers who are already producing milk at a loss.
Outlook looking a little brighter
NFU Cymru Dairy Board Chairman, Aled Jones, says with the outlook in the dairy sector looking a little brighter, it is critical that dairy farmers see money going back to the farm gate quickly and not stuck in the supply chain.
Following a global supply and demand imbalance that sent dairy commodity prices - and the price farmers are paid for their milk – plummeting, there are now signs that the bottom of the trough has been reached.
Aled Jones said: "It’s been the longest and deepest crisis anyone in the dairy sector can remember and clearly current farmgate prices are not sustainable.
"It’s still early days but from what we’re seeing on the futures markets, it’s looking like things are on the cusp of improving.
"Supply is pulling back across the world and there are reports that dairy consumption will be bigger than the growth in production this year.
"On farm we’ve seen price increases, a few price holds and although no overall change on the last Global Dairy Trade auction, this follows two positive auctions.
"However, many farmers are receiving an extremely low price for their milk, so despite any small increases, prices will still be extremely low and how quickly we get back to a sustainable level no-one knows."
