NEARLY ten per cent of dairy farms across England and Wales have closed in the last three years, according to the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB).
More than 1,000 milk producers have shut down since June 2013, the AHDB said. North Yorkshire lost 89 farms, the highest total of any county while Berkshire saw the greatest rate of decline with a third of its farms closing.
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Meanwhile, a new report has revealed the number of UK family farms has halved since the turn of the century.
The study, commissioned by the Prince’s Countryside Fund (PCF) and carried out by Exeter University, cited a lack of succession as one of the biggest risks to the sector.
PCF director Claire Saunders said: “We want to support farmers to make sure they have the opportunities to make the right business decisions.”
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