THREE hundred Cheshire dairy farms could go to the wall over the next five years, it was claimed this week.
The warning came as farmers in the county - which has the second largest dairy industry in the UK behind Devon - were forced to accept lower milk prices.
Last week Robert Wiseman dairies, a major milk processor in the North West, cut the price they pay for milk by 0.65p a litre. It means the price to farmers has dropped from 25p to 18.5p per litre.
Phil Hodgson, of Oxheys Farm near Little Budworth, explained that, on an average sized dairy farm like his own, the recent cut would cost £7,000. In response to the financial pressures he has taken the advice of DEFRA and agreed to have wind turbines built on his premises.
Phil Smallwood, of Greenheyes Farm at Stanthorne, near Middlewich, claimed the industry is 'haemorrhaging jobs' due to the price war between retail stores, processors and farmers.
He said: 'My peers are now walking away and they are people who I never would have believed would walk away.
They've just got so disgusted with it and fed up for working for nothing.
'The agricultural chaplain has been incredibly busy talking to farmers at the end of their tether - suicide and stress in the county is growing.'
Matters have not been helped by the Government's Single Farm Payment subsidy scheme which has been delayed - putting more pressure on farmers' cash flows.
Charles Davis of Gorstage Green Farm near Weaverham said that a number of farmers are looking into other sources of income - he himself has recently stared a 'Farmer for a Day' tourism package to bring in much-needed funds.
He said: 'It is very frustrating at the moment - I'm getting 17p a litre and if it falls by 1p then I will go broke; even at 21p a litre I'm making a loss.'
Dead poultry that were recently found on land off the A54 in Somerford have been cleared of having Avian Flu. It was confirmed by Congleton Borough Council after tests.
