The UK dairy industry, battling with market volatility, will need government support this year, Dairy UK Chairman Billy Keane said.

Difficult market conditions globally, which are hitting the pockets of many UK dairy farms, are set to continue for several months.

“The UK dairy industry has a strong long-term future to look forward to but to ensure it’s in a position to take full advantage of the opportunities that will arise, it will need all the help it can get from Government.

“At the top of the list of things we would like Government to focus on is to step up the support for British dairy products – recognising their nutritional qualities and encouraging consumers to buy our products.

“Our industry is a UK success story employing a large number of people across the supply chain. The capital investment by the leading dairy companies has more than doubled over the last decade from £105 million to £265 million. There has also been substantial investment on dairy farms.

“The latest Dairy UK Environmental Benchmarking Report showed that dairy processors have achieved an 8% increase in energy efficiency since 2008, meaning they are on track to meet the Climate Change Agreements and Dairy Roadmap 2020 targets. We know that dairy farmers are also making significant strides forward in making in the environmental arena.

“Animal health and welfare is important to farmers, processors and consumers alike. Johne’s disease places a significant financial burden on the industry. The Action Group on Johne’s will strive to take the industry forward with the launch of a new management plan in the spring."

The NFU has also raised concerns over market volatility as President Meurig Raymond said he felt 'desperate' for the 3,000 dairy farmers supplying Arla, who cut their price paid to farmers near Christmas.

"It couldn’t have come at a worse time and this latest reduction will continue to place huge pressure on cash flows for these farmers in the months ahead. It is vital that we don’t see this trend continue through other processors’ February price announcements.

“For the first time producer numbers have dipped under 10,000 with 60 going out of business in November alone. We will continue to put pressure on Government, retailers and the processors with the aim of trying to rebuild an economically sustainable dairy industry. We cannot emphasise enough how awful this downward spiral has been for the dairy industry in the UK.”