The closing date for completion of a Department of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) survey that will assess the labour shortfall in a number of sectors, including agriculture and veterinary, is approaching.

Defra launched the snapshot survey last week and it remains open until Thursday, November 18.

The survey is designed to collect accurate and representative data on the current state of the labour market in key sectors of the UK economy.

This data will then be used to assess the extent to which the supply of labour meets demand and to understand the main drivers behind any labour shortage.

Dairy farmers are urged to fill in the 10-minute survey to highlight the labour issue in the sector.

Managing director, Royal Association of British Dairy Farmers (RABDF), Matt Knight said: “Labour shortage has been an issue in the dairy sector for several years now.

It is currently on the Government’s radar, making now the most critical time to highlight the issue by completing their survey.

“If we don’t speak up now, we can’t expect to see any help from the Government in resolving the labour shortage issue in the dairy sector,” he said.

The survey is completely anonymous and can be accessed here.