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Written question asked by Sarah Dyke (Liberal Democrat) on Thursday, 29 January 2026, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Wednesday, 4 February 2026 (named day). It was answered by Angela Eagle (Labour) on Wednesday, 4 February 2026 on behalf of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

Dairy Farming

Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what information her Department holds on the average cost of producing a pint of milk in each of the last five years.

Answer

The average cost of production for milk is shown below. Data is from the Farm Business Survey which covers farm businesses in England with a Standard Output of more than £21,000. Whilst it captures the majority of agricultural activity, it excludes smaller businesses (which account for 2% of output).

Production costs include all financial aspects of dairy enterprises such as unpaid labour, herd depreciation and an estimated rental equivalent for owned land. An allowance is also made for non-milk revenue (mostly the sale of dairy calves), which is applied as a reduction to cost. This reflects the value of by-products from milk production. The production costs therefore represent the price that would have to be paid on all milk produced for dairy enterprises to break even. The data includes organic production which is likely to incur higher production costs.

Average cost of milk production (pence per litre) 2020/21 to 2024/25

2020/21

2021/22

2022/23

2023/24

2024/25

28.3

36.4

48.6

44.2

44.9

Source: Farm Accounts in England

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
109635
Session
2024-26
Subjects
Costs Dairy farming Milk
Contains statistics
Yes
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk