More than eight out of 10 dairy farmers say profits have fallen or remained static over the past year.
Some 53% of farmers reported a decline in profits, with 31% saying profits had remained unchanged in the study by the Royal Association of British Dairy Farmers and Farmers Weekly.
The findings, which have prompted fresh calls for fairer distribution of dairy profits, highlighted the ongoing nervousness in the milk production sector, which is losing producers at a rate of one per week.
Some 45% of respondents described their current mood as 'fairly' or 'very' negative, while 18% said they did not intend to be farming in five to 10 years' time.
Bovine TB and changes to Nitrate Vulnerable Zone regulations were making farmers fear for their future profitability, said Farmers Weekly editor Jane King.
Of those dairy farmers who did not expect to remain in the industry, 75% said it was because they could not make any money out of it. "Farmers are happy they have a future within farming, but I wouldn't say the future lies in dairy unless there's a change," said RABDF chairman Lyndon Edwards, who predicted that some farmers would switch to more profitable energy crops.
He called for a more equal distribution of profit within the supply chain to give farmers greater confidence in their future.
There were some brighter signs, however, with just over half the respondents saying they felt positive about their business at the moment.
The survey comes as DairyCo and Dairy UK released a new report this week claiming that farmers who invested in their businesses had a bright future.
Those farmers supplying efficient and competitive processors could expect to be profitable in the long term, the two organisations said.
While the industry was suffering extreme price volatility at present, this situation should improve within the next year to 18 months, they added, with global dairy demand set to grow.
Some 53% of farmers reported a decline in profits, with 31% saying profits had remained unchanged in the study by the Royal Association of British Dairy Farmers and Farmers Weekly.
The findings, which have prompted fresh calls for fairer distribution of dairy profits, highlighted the ongoing nervousness in the milk production sector, which is losing producers at a rate of one per week.
Some 45% of respondents described their current mood as 'fairly' or 'very' negative, while 18% said they did not intend to be farming in five to 10 years' time.
Bovine TB and changes to Nitrate Vulnerable Zone regulations were making farmers fear for their future profitability, said Farmers Weekly editor Jane King.
Of those dairy farmers who did not expect to remain in the industry, 75% said it was because they could not make any money out of it. "Farmers are happy they have a future within farming, but I wouldn't say the future lies in dairy unless there's a change," said RABDF chairman Lyndon Edwards, who predicted that some farmers would switch to more profitable energy crops.
He called for a more equal distribution of profit within the supply chain to give farmers greater confidence in their future.
There were some brighter signs, however, with just over half the respondents saying they felt positive about their business at the moment.
The survey comes as DairyCo and Dairy UK released a new report this week claiming that farmers who invested in their businesses had a bright future.
Those farmers supplying efficient and competitive processors could expect to be profitable in the long term, the two organisations said.
While the industry was suffering extreme price volatility at present, this situation should improve within the next year to 18 months, they added, with global dairy demand set to grow.
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