Premium
Agriculture and dairying in the south‐west of England
Author(s) -
RICKARD R. C.
Publication year - 1983
Publication title -
international journal of dairy technology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.061
H-Index - 53
eISSN - 1471-0307
pISSN - 1364-727X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1471-0307.1983.tb02222.x
Subject(s) - production (economics) , agricultural economics , livestock , agriculture , agricultural science , milk production , herd , value (mathematics) , dairy industry , business , fixed cost , economics , geography , zoology , biology , mathematics , forestry , microeconomics , statistics , food science , archaeology
Within a region that is mainly agricultural, livestock production dominates and milk production accounts for nearly half the total annual value of output of £ 100 million. Over the past decade milk production has risen at a faster rate than nationally, due mainly to increased numbers of cows. There has been a marked degree of concentration in the structure of production. Here, Dorset stands out with one‐third of the herds and almost two‐thirds of the cows in units of 100 cows or more. Increased output has meant that profits have increased in real terms with efficiency gains in fixed costs. Future prospects offer little hope of increased milk support prices in the EC, and the success of our milk producers will depend on expanding their share of the UK market and the extent to which fixed costs can be contained or even reduced.