Britain's dairy farmers are facing a crisis due to falling demand - because health professionals are treating milk and dairy products 'as the enemy', an expert has warned.

David Dobbin, chief executive of United Dairy Farmers - a co-operative group of producers - said younger generations are drinking far less milk than their parents and grandparents did.

He said a 'three-a-day' campaign is going to be launched to promote the nutritional benefits of dairy products in a bid to turn the tide.

Young people are shunning milk, butter and cheese because these have been treated as 'the enemy' by health professionals, an industry chief has warned

Speaking at the European Federation of Animal Science conference in Belfast, Farmers Weekly reports, he said: 'In the past children consumed a lot of dairy, but today’s children and teens don’t necessarily eat it.

'It’s a demographic time bomb. If we don’t address the problem now, then we are facing a fall-off in demand for dairy.'

And he added: 'The problem we face is that we have some health professionals who see dairy as the enemy.

Worrying: Fewer young people are consuming dairy products after years of them being stigmatised by health professionals, a conference in Belfast has been told

If we can win the hearts and minds for consumers then it will create life-long habits for dairy consumption David Dobbin

'People wrongly assume that dairy is bad for them because of its fat content, without considering the other nutritional benefits it offers.

'We have to fight that.'

The new campaign to promote dairy consumption is being launched by the Global Dairy Platform, which works to promote the industry around the world.

The dairy industry must fight back against falling demand, farmers have been told

Despite concerns about demand, Mr Dobbin said producers have the potential to increase production by 2.5 per cent a year.

He said one challenge the industry has to overcome is ensuring prices are consistent to ensure stability.