The GB dairy sector has contracted by 6% in the past year alone, with 440 fewer producers than in April last year.

An AHDB survey of GB dairy producers found that there were 7,130 producers left as of April 2024, which is 1,250 fewer than four years ago.

Most of the recent decline was seen during the winter months, with producer numbers falling by 370 between last October and April this year.

Milk production was at its lowest levels for seven years during the 2023-24 milk year, however average daily deliveries during July were only back marginally on year earlier levels.

Freya Shuttleworth, senior livestock analyst at AHDB, said: “Although milk prices are historically higher, when compared to the peaks in 2022 they have dropped off substantially.

“This, alongside robust cull cow prices, continued inflationary pressure on key inputs and increased interest rates driving up the cost of borrowing, may have incentivised producers to shut up shop as farm margins tighten.

“For some producers, increased regulatory pressures such as NVZs [Nitrate Vulnerable Zones] and slurry storage could also have been a driver to leave the industry prior to making long-term investment decisions.”

Many of the cows owned by producers leaving the industry were sold to other farm businesses looking to expand, however some were culled.

The total dairy breeding herd contracted by almost 9,000 cows during 2023 and stood at 1.84m head in Defra’s December census.