To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the average age of dairy farmers was in the UK at the most recent date for which figures are available. (207450)

The average (median) age of a holder on dairy farms in the UK in 2005 was 55 years.

Notes:

1. Holdings where a limited company or institution takes financial or legal responsibility for the holding, or where there is no single holder, have been excluded.

2. The median age is the middle age when the ages of all holders are put in ascending order.