The UK is currently grappling with a nationwide butter shortage, leaving many supermarket shelves bare. This unexpected scarcity is due to this year’s unusually wet spring, which typically brings a ‘flush’ in milk production as cows graze on fresh grass.
However, the persistent rain has drowned the grass and cut short the cows’ grazing time, resulting in no ‘spring flush’ in milk production.
This has left butter producers scrambling to secure cream amid rising prices.
Thomas Straker and Toby Hopkinson, founders of British butter brand All Things Butter, have warned that customers will face a shortage of butter in the coming months due to the adverse weather conditions, reports the Express.
The UK’s wet 2024 spring has wreaked havoc on the dairy industry, leaving cows and farmers in a difficult situation.
Milk production from cows in the UK dropped by an estimated 1.1 percent this year due to the unfavourable spring conditions.
As the cream supply dwindled, bakers and restaurants scrambled to buy the last of the cream before prices soared even higher.
With cream scarce, butter producers found their churns empty, a shortage that has now rippled down the supply chain, leaving supermarket shelves bare just as demand for butter peaks with the festive season.