Farms cut milk production due to labour shortages

Andrew Gilman said a lot of dairy farmers were "embracing robotics"

Dairy farmers have said they are finding it harder than ever to get the skilled workers they need to look after their cows and to make sure everything on the farm runs smoothly.

According to a new survey, more than half of farmers say it has got harder to recruit staff in the ast five years and just under 9% of farms have reduced the amount of milk they produce because of labour shortages.

This new survey was carried out by the massive farmer-owned dairy company Arla, which supplies milk and other dairy products to big supermarkets like Asda.

The company talked to nearly 500 UK dairy farmers and most of them were feeling the impact of a lack of skilled workers.

Almost 90% of the farmers Arla talked to said they had advertised jobs and had few or no applicants at all.

More than half of farmers said it had got harder to recruit staff in the past five years

That is a picture Tamworth farmer Andrew Gilman recognises.

On a walk round his dairy farm, he told me whenever he bumps into his neighbours, the first thing they talk about is staffing and recruitment.

Running a modern dairy herd is a skilled job, but it is often the mix of skills needed that make it hard to find the right people.

As Andrew told me, you need someone who loves animals, but is also very happy with the high-tech nature of modern dairy farming.

That means you have to be comfortable with lots of data and computers, but also robotics and even genetics.

Robot milking parlours are more common

Individual cows each have a sensor that produces lots of information about everything from fertility to health.

Robot milking parlours are more and more common, and that means you have to understand how they work and how to keep them working.

Many farmers now use genetics to find and breed the best traits into the herd for that particular farm.

Arla talked to nearly 500 UK dairy farmers

There are lots of reasons as for why there is a lack of skilled workers.

Brexit plays a part, but there are also plenty of other skilled jobs out there.

In Staffordshire, where Mr Gilman farms, plenty of potential recruits prefer working for JCB or HS2 instead.

As a company, Arla now wants the new government to look at encouraging more people to think of dairy farming as a long-term career and to help support those who want to acquire the skills needed to work in the industry.

The rewards are pretty good. A manager of a larger herd might earn more than £40,000 a year and even have a house thrown in to sweeten the deal.

You just need the skills to do the job.