Huge rise in factory-style dairy farming of ‘battery cows’ in UK as costs rise

There has been a huge rise in factory-style dairy farming of “battery cows” in the UK as farmers struggle with increasing costs and face selling milk at a loss. The number of intensive dairy farms that permanently confine some of their cattle indoors has more than doubled in the past 10 years, an investigation by the Bureau of Investigative Journalism (BIJ) has found. Data suggests there are now at least 180 dairy farms where cows have no access to the outdoors, up from about 70 in 2015. In the same period, there has also been a doubling in the number of “mega dairies”, which house more than 700 cows. There are 40 such farms, the largest of which contain 2,600 cows. While intensive poultry and pig farms are regulated, large dairy units in the UK are not required to hold an environmental permit. This means the government does not know how many there are, or where. The number of megafarms is increasing as farmers in the UK struggle to make ends meet. There is evidence of high levels of pollution linked to dairy and beef cattle farms in recent years. Shortages of essentials including fertiliser, fuel and feed have caused costs to shoot up in recent months. Some farmers have had to sell milk for as little as 28p a litre, despite it costing about 40p a litre to produce. In the latest crisis to hit the industry, many farmers have said they were forced to “go big” and adopt more-intensive systems to boost productivity. …