Fewer dairy farmers have left the industry when compared with previous years despite a surge in input costs, a survey by the AHDB shows.
The levy organisation's most recent survey of major milk buyers estimated that in October 2022 there were 7,850 dairy producers in Great Britain.
This is a reduction of 150 producers - or 1.9% - when compared to October 2021, and a decrease of just 30 (0.4%) when compared to April this year.
Whilst input costs have continued to rise over the last year, the AHDB said increased milk prices had helped to offset higher costs.
"This may be why fewer farmers have left the industry when compared with previous years," said Charlotte Forkes-Rees, AHDB analyst.
"However, variations between contract prices may have encouraged a number of producers to switch contracts over the last 6 months."
The latest figures suggest that the average volume per farm in GB is 1.57 million litres per day, in line with those seen in both October 2021 and April 2022.
Getting a true picture of the number of dairy producers in the country is often difficult due to the different reporting methods used.
The Food Standards Agency (FSA) can be used to track producer numbers across England and Wales, based on the number of farmers registered to produce milk.
However, deregistering is voluntary, and therefore unlikely to be top of the “to do” list for a farmer leaving the industry.
The AHDB’s estimate represents the number of producers actively contributing to British milk production.
It is based on the number of active producers and temporary inactive producers from the milk buyers that contribute to the Daily Milk Deliveries survey.
This covers approximately 82% of volumes in GB, and so the estimate has been adjusted accordingly.
