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Countryfile star Charlotte Smith was quick to comfort one farmer who was moved to tears.

During the latest episode of the BBC show (April 26), viewers saw the presenter speak to Hamish McIntosh about quitting dairy farming, which has been part of his life since he was 12 years old.

His family farm has been producing milk for nearly 80 years, although Charlotte informs viewers that they were preparing for one of their last milkings due to the rising cost.

Asked if he would need to invest more into the farm if he was to continue, Hamish replied: "To stay in this dairy industry and keep up to speed, we looked at spending about £1.5 million.

"I'd be putting a new shed up with better comfort cubicles and a new milking parlour, we'd have to do it just to keep our cost down really."

Charlotte explained that the milk market is dominated by around 10 major dairy processors, including farming co-operatives.

They collect the milk under contract, and each sets their own price for farmers, which can rapidly shift.

Hamish was getting 29p a litre, well below what it costs him to produce the milk. When Charlotte asked what the big price drop meant for his farm, Hamish shared he was losing £30,000 a month.

The price drop meant that Hamish had to shut down his milking parlour, the dairy side of the farm and sell the 280 cows which made up most of his herd. Speaking about the heartbreaking decision, he said: "Very sad, absolutely. Yeah, I felt pretty devastated afterwards."

Charlotte highlighted that he was welling up over speaking about what he had to do, asking if he expected it to have that impact.

He replied: "No, not at all actually. I thought we could deal with it, but yeah, it's hard. Even though it's hard work, it is quite hard."

Now, Hamish has 80 cows left in his dairy herd, which will be milked for a few more days before his contract runs out.

Charlotte told viewers: "Currently, across England, Wales and Scotland, there are just over 7,000 dairy farms left. That's a drop of 200 in a year. This is part of a wider trend which has seen the number halve over the past 20 years.

"Industry analysts say that's a trend which is likely to continue. Milk prices may not be the only factor driving dairy farmers out of the industry, but they are crucial to profitability, which is often cited as a cause."

Two years ago, new regulations known as the Fair Dealing Obligations were introduced to address some of the issues in dairy farming, aiming to ensure clearer contracts with dairy processors.

A statement from Dairy UK told Countryfile: "Dairy processors are working hard to manage the current market conditions, ensuring that milk is collected and processed, despite the significant financial challenges they are also experiencing."

They added: "While the Fair Dealing Obligations have an important role to play in supporting fairness and transparency, they cannot in themselves address the effects of global oversupply.

"Farmers with any concerns over their contracts should initially raise them with their dairy processors, and if they're not addressed, the Fair Trading Obligations mean farmers on variable contracts have the right to request a written explanation of how their price has been determined and purchasers are legally required to respond."

Countryfile is available to watch on BBC iPlayer.