The UK’s dairy industry has warned that chronic worker shortages – worsened by Brexit and the pandemic – are threatening the country’s food security and driving up the risk of reduced production and higher prices.
A survey by Arla, the UK’s largest dairy co-operative and owner of the Lurpak and Cravendale brands, found that five in six farmers looking to recruit had received very few or no applications from qualified candidates. The finding reflects a growing struggle to find staff with the right skills, with 84% of farmers now citing hiring difficulties, up from 79% in 2021.
Producers said the end of free movement for EU workers, coupled with the economic fallout from Covid, has compounded long-standing challenges in recruitment across agriculture. Nearly half (48.6%) of respondents said retaining staff had become harder since Brexit and the pandemic, while only 5% reported any improvement.
The shortages are already having tangible effects: 13% of those surveyed said they would leave farming altogether in the next year if the situation does not improve, and 6% said they had been forced to cut milk production.
Although Arla’s total milk output has remained stable, its membership has fallen by about 300 over the past three years – from 2,100 to 1,900 – as farmers retire or consolidate herds. Members now account for almost a third of all UK dairy farmers.
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