Dairy farms are closing down en masse, with a reported fifth closing out this year, and an almost 50% reduction across the UK in the past decade. In the next decade, some analysts claim that it will fall yet another 50%. Holy. Shit. If those numbers don’t make you a little giddy, then I don’t know what will.
Production costs on dairy farms are high, and the price of milk at wholesale has been tanking, so for many farmers, it simply isn’t worth it as their profits sink lower and lower. “No other industry would continue on this basis of profitability, and it’s only because we are dealing with livestock that we don’t want to have slaughtered. But as feed stocks run down and have to be grown and replaced, many will simply get out. Planning for the next two years has to be done well in advance and there is no income to fund crops. Once the banks lose faith in us being able to pay them back, you will see a huge exodus,” Nick Adames, a farm owner, told the press. With similar problems coming up for dairy farmers in New Zealand, it’s safe to say that this trend is international.
According to The Telegraph, “Almost a third of all farmers who sold up last year cited debt as one of their key reasons for exiting the industry, according to figures from property group Savills.” With vegan food trends taking off in 2016, how badass would it be to see former dairy producers getting with the times, realizing their wrongs, and putting their former efforts behind cow exploitation into making delicious dairy free products? I’ll keep my fingers crossed. At this rate, it might not just be a pipe dream.
Source: Ecorazzi