06/10/2026
Another very sad day 😢
One more gone.
We’ve just heard the sad news that another Isle of Wight dairy farm has milked its cows for the final time. For any dairy farmer, that last milking - and watching the cows leave - is an incredibly hard moment. It's a sad day not just for that farm, but the whole island farming community.
It’s made us reflect on the state of dairy farming here on the Island and across the UK.
There are now just 4 dairy farms left on the Isle of Wight.
Twenty years ago there were 38. In the 1960s, there were more than 300. Small, local supply chains used to be the norm.
So what happened? The decline mirrors the national picture. Dairy is one of the most volatile farming sectors, with rapid price drops, tight margins and very little control for farmers over a perishable product. On the Isle of Wight, the extra costs of operating on an island make those pressures even sharper.
Milk has become a commoditised product, controlled by a handful of large processors supplying an even smaller number of retailers. In many ways, dairy has been a victim of its own success: 98% of households buy dairy products and milk - a genuine superfood - can cost less than bottled water. The British dairy sector has made high quality nutrition affordable for all. To survive, farms have had to scale up and streamline. The number of dairy farms keeps falling, even though national milk production and demand remain steady.
Here on the Island, we consume around 30 million litres of milk and dairy products each year. Today, only a fraction is produced locally - most of what we consume arrives by ferry. But, twenty years ago, we produced almost enough to supply every resident.
We are lucky enough to still have some brilliant dairy farms here, including Briddlesford Farm and Cowes Milk, who alongside us continue to bring high‑quality Island dairy to our communities.
When a dairy farm closes, it’s not just cows that disappear. It’s the staff, vets, contractors, feed suppliers, calf rearers, consultants, milk lorries, machinery dealers, parlour technicians, advisers and more. Yes, the land will still be farmed, but few sectors support as many local jobs and services as dairy.
A dairy farm is more than a place that milks cows. It has shaped our countryside, our communities and our food culture for generations. It deserves to be valued before it’s gone.
Please support Island produce wherever you can - it truly makes a difference.
