The human cost of dairy farm closures in the West
This article confirms the depth of the challenges facing the most troubled of farming sectors. It tells us:
Times are tough for small dairy farmers in the West and the latest figures show exactly what effect that is having on them.
Since 2002 nearly 40% of dairy farms in Somerset, Wiltshire and Gloucestershire have closed. That is just under 700 farms.
One reason is that smaller farms are being replaced by much bigger ones.
In the same time period the average size of a dairy herd in England has gone up from 77 to 110, something that has had a huge impact on farming communities.