EXTREME HEAT CUTS UK MILK OUTPUT BY 240 MILLION LITRES, RESEARCH SAYS

Dairy farmers across England and Wales produced 240 million fewer litres of milk than expected this summer because of extreme heat, according to research published by the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit (ECIU). The ECIU said the shortfall amounted to four fewer days' worth of milk supply than expected between May and August. It valued the lost production at more than £83m, an amount it said would have filled over one billion school milk cartons. The organisation said high temperatures led to poor grazing conditions and stunted harvests. In response, many farmers began giving cattle winter feed earlier than usual.

The shortfall follows what was recorded as the UK's hottest summer on record in 2026, with five heatwaves and several drought declarations recorded across the country. High temperatures reduced grazing quality and stunted harvests, and researchers said livestock came under heat strain as a result. Many farmers responded by bringing cattle indoors and giving them winter feed months earlier than usual. Debbie Wilkins, a dairy and beef farmer at Prior's Norton in Gloucestershire, said the costs pile up when cows have to be brought indoors, and that the loss of milk production compounds the issue. She described the summer as "difficult".

The ECIU said UK milk production could still reach near-record levels in 2026, because farmers had built up a surplus earlier in the year that partially offset the litres lost over summer. It said the consolidation of dairy farms in recent years had allowed remaining farms to use economies of scale and greater mechanisation, increasing output even as herd sizes fall. Tom Cantillon, a senior analyst at the ECIU, said milk is an "unforgiving product" because it cannot be stockpiled, and that future heatwaves would become progressively harder for farmers to recover from. He said the costs do not stop now that the rain has come.