25 Sep 2024 --- Arla Foods Group’s latest survey of UK dairy farmers reveals mounting pressures in the food and farming sector due to a labor shortage. Over 56% of the farmers say it is more difficult to hire staff, as some 86% of those surveyed say their job postings have garnered very few to no applicants with the desired skills. The dairy cooperative says farmers, on average, are paying staff 27% more than at the end of 2019, before the pandemic and the end of the free movement of people from the EU. Increased production costs have led to a spike in food prices. One in 12 farmers (8.5%) are tackling costs by scaling back production. Some 16% warn they will consider leaving farming if costs do not stabilize.
