Shoppers are being urged to support local dairy farmers by buying as much Scottish and British produce as possible.
The Press and Journal has launched a campaign in response to a crisis in the sector, which could result in hundreds leaving the industry.
A campaign poster, which can be found in today’s farming supplement, urges readers to support our farmers.
One north-east dairy farming family has also spoken out about producing milk at a loss.
The McLeans at Mains of Culsh Farm, near New Deer, are paid 25.9 pence for every litre of milk they produce, despite the fact it costs them 30 pence a litre to produce.
Every time their milk buyer drops the price it pays them by a penny, £14,000 is knocked off their annual income.
Politicians expressed concern this week that milk costs less than a bottle of water, even though it costs far more to produce.
Jean McLean blames a combination of supermarkets devaluing milk and global market factors for the poor prices received by farmers.
She says the investment required to run a modern dairy business is substantial and there is only so long farmers can produce milk at a loss.
“The government wants food to be cheap but we could end up where people cannot afford to produce it,” she said.
“We can sustain it for a short while, but the worry is we have no idea when prices are going to get back up.”
All major milk buyers have steadily cut their prices since last year.
The McLean family supplies Muller Wiseman and in April last year they were paid 33.6 pence a litre for their milk.
Earlier this month, Glasgow-based First Milk revealed it would be forced to delay farmer payments by two weeks due to cash-flow problems.
The firm, which produces brands like the Lake District Dairy Company, Isle of Arran cheddar, Scottish Pride and Mull of Kintyre cheddar, has reduced its milk price every month since June last year.
Prior to June 1, last year, farmers supplying First Milk were paid 32.5 pence a litre for their milk.
Today, they are paid between 21.7 pence and 22.9 pence a litre.
Although it will not be the silver bullet to fix the sector’s problems, Mrs McLean has urged everyone to get behind Scotland’s dairy farmers.
She says when consumers are buying milk, cheese, yoghurts and butter, they should make a conscious effort to buy Scottish and British first.
Figures from the Scottish Dairy Cattle Association reveal the number of dairy farmers in Scotland has fallen from 5,375 in 1903 to 1,001 today.