UK Dairy Herds Urged to Capitalize on Market Swings
Record milk yields and favorable feed-to-milk price ratios yield historic margins before climate extremes and supply surpluses test farm resilience.
Dairy margins face pressure after record first half
Dairy producers have weathered a turbulent 2025/26, securing
record margins during the first half of the year before falling milk prices and rising input costs put pressure on businesses.
Dairy farmers need to take the opportunities when they come after year of extremes
Kingshay’s annual Dairy Costings Focus Report has highlighted the volatility seen over the previous year
Dairy margins hit record highs before market downturn
Dairy producers enjoyed record margins in the first half of 2025/26 before falling milk prices and surging input costs rapidly eroded the gains. Kingshay’s annual Dairy Costings Focus Report shows a year split sharply in two, with strong milk prices and record production early on followed by weaker returns and rising costs later in the period.
Milk costs report shows record yields in challenging year
Uncertainty is the only certainty, with the weather and geopolitics pushing dairy costs, prices and performance to new limits in the milk year ended March 2026. The Kingshay Dairy Costings Focus Report identifies the main trends and performance indicators, using data from 1,089 conventional herds and 88 organic herds.
Kingshay report reveals dairy margins of £2708 per cow – The Scottish Farmer
“Dairy farmers benefited from record margins during the first half of 2025/26, but falling milk prices and rising input costs have made for a tougher second half of the year.
That is according to Kingshay’s latest Dairy Costings Focus Report…”