The co-operative, which provided over one billion litres a year to the food and drink industry – equivalent to 10 per cent of the total milk production of the UK - is being heralded by some as a sign of things to come. According to the PA, Lyndon Edwards, chairman of the Royal Association of British Dairy Farmers (RABDF), said that if farmers continue to quit the industry at the current rate “by 2030 around 50% of milk and dairy produce will be imported”.