The total turnover of the British dairy industry is £6 billion, around 10% of total food and manufacturing output. Over 50,000 farmers and farm workers are employed on dairy farms in the UK. Approx 34,000 more people work in the milk industry driving tankers, pasteurising milk and packing and distributing dairy products. Dairy farming has a postive impact on the environment and countryside. Many of the hedgerows that are such an important and distinctive component of landscape and biodiversity, owe their existence to the need to divide grassland into conveniently-sized grazing pastures for dairy cattle. As well as providing shelter for livestock, these hedgerows create an ideal habitat for many of our farmland bird and wildlife species. The difficulties of the dairy industry result from a number of factors, but particularly the price of milk paid to dairy farmers. This has been falling steadily since the mid-1990s. In 2006 the average price paid to farmers was a mere 18 pence per litre, compared to an average retail price of 53 pence per litre. Research showed that in 2005, retailers had 31% of the share of retail price - over ten times the share they had back in 1995. The situation is particularly stark if compared with the cost of milk production. It has been estimated that it costs farmers, on average, 21 pence to produce each litre of milk, so most dairy farmers are operating at a loss. This is not a sustainable position. Ultimately, it will only lead to lower UK milk production, higher imports, more food miles and less food security.