Farmers sell top cows

The cows were prolific milk producers

A prize dairy herd in Leicestershire has been sold because the farmers say they cannot make a living producing milk.

Pat and John Stanley, from Spring Burrow Lodge Farm in Grace Dieu, have nurtured the herd for the past 20 years.

The herd of more than 100 cattle is among the top 10 in the country for efficiency, producing over 10,000 litres of milk per cow every year.

But over the past four years the herd has not paid its way and the Stanleys have had to auction the cattle at their farm because they are operating at a loss.

They blame high labour and feed costs, together with government-imposed quotas and cheap imports.

The couple now plan to concentrate on the arable and longhorn cattle business.