Making milk and milk products more efficiently
Milk and milk products are a huge part of the UK farming industry, and we are proud to support the local dairy farmers who supply us.
So it is always good to see more efficient dairy farming practices come into common usage - it helps to keep the price of milk and milk products down, as well as allowing hard-working farmers to earn a living.
Newly published figures from Defra reveal how, in the wake of the foot and mouth crisis of 2001, productivity rose substantially across the dairy industry.
Following the outbreak, some dairy farmers exited the industry completely, and others were forced to scale back production due to the loss of some of their herds.
But milk production dropped by just 2%, in spite of a 20% drop in the overall size of the UK dairy herd.
Other sections of the farming sector did not do quite as well - in the pig industry, for instance, herd sizes fell by 40% and so did meat production.
It's an insight into the resilience and adaptability of the UK dairy farming sector - and how when times get tough, farmers work even harder to keep fresh bottle milk on your doorstep each morning.
