According to new AHDB figures, the UK has lost nearly 200 dairy farms in the past year, but milk production per farm is still rising.
As of April 2025, the estimated number of dairy producers for GB was 7,040. This is a 160 decrease since a previous survey conducted in October.
Every year, the industry has seen a decline of approximately 190 producers (2.6%) compared to April 2024.
Most of these exits are believed to have occurred during the winter, according to the latest research on milk buyers at AHDB.
“This is a continuous trend, with industry exits usually occurring before winter housing, with additional input requirements such as feed being seasonally higher,” says a report from the Levy organization.
“During the winter 2024, we also saw changes in government support and additional supply chain requirements introduced to some producers.”
Despite the declining number of producers, milk production on each farm in GB continues to grow.
From April 2024 to April 2025, the average annual milk yield per farm has now increased to an estimated 1.77 million liters. This is an increase of 4% year-on-year.
This indicates a continuous shift towards smaller but larger dairy companies, AHDB said.
According to the DEFRA June 2024 census, the average herd of commercial dairy farms in the UK (over 10 cows) stood at 165.
This represents an increase in four cattle per farm compared to 2023 and nine more since 2022.
The latest forecast for 2025/26 Milkie Ears predicts 12.83 billion litres of new production. This was an increase of 3.1% in the previous year.
Additionally, historical data is available on the AHDB producer number page. However, organizations point out that getting an accurate count of active dairy producers can be challenging due to the various reporting methods.
The Food Standards Agency (FSA) can be used to track the number of producers in England and Wales based on the number of farmers registered to produce milk.
However, registrations are voluntary and are unlikely to top the “to do” list for farmers leaving the industry, AHDB explains.
