Dairy profit margins are still being squeezed (From Ludlow Advertiser)

Dairy profit margins are still being squeezed

INFLATION continues to squeeze profit margins at farm level, according to the Dairy Group.

Director Nick Holt-Martyn said that the only bright spots over the past year were that feed costs had fallen by £6 per tonne and milk quality was fractionally higher than 2004. But stability was masking the profit squeeze. He said milk prices were almost completely unchan-ged while herd size and yield per cow showed only small changes.

"This masks the real fall in milk prices. This stability is welcome after the turbulence of the last seven years but fails to show the cost of inflation that is squeezing profit margins at farm level."

Against low quota costs and stable feed costs, the marginal economics this winter were better than for many years, but only for those who could take advantage.