Dairy survival depends on milk price increase
UK - Milk prices need to rise by at least 3p/litre for dairy farmers to make enough return on capital to secure their future, according to farm profit figures released by Promar International this week.
19 September 2006
1 minute read
"The results demonstrate the real extent of the problems being faced," said regional consultant Andrew Thompson.
The survey was based on more than 120 farms with 19,500 cows across 14,700ha (36,300 acres).
The average farm made a profit of £29,155 in the year to March 2006, similar to the previous year. Yield per cow and herd size rose slightly, as did milk price at 19.3p/litre, but variable costs rose by 8% and overheads by 4%.
Although the most profitable 25% of farms were paid a similar milk price, they made a profit of £86,089, up about £3000 on the previous year.
Source: Farmers Weekly Online
