Kategorie: News

In Ireland about 75 dairy farms produce organic. They represent about one percent of the total Irish milk production. The Irish Organic Milk Suppliers Co-op has currently been granted as producer organisation (PO). It is the first dairy producer organisation in the country.

In Ireland in 2023 the intake of milk by milk processors was according to provisional statement 8.5 billion (10*9) litres which was 4.1 percent less than in 2022 and 3.4 percent less than in 2021.

In Sweden the dairy cooperative Arla has this month (February) introduced consumer products without cow milk as an ingredient but based on Swedish oats. The products are enriched with fibre, vitamin D and folic acid (B9). According to Arla milk remains the core of Arla’s activities but consumers who do not want to consume milk or milk products Arla wants to be able to serve with plant-based alternatives.

In Finland the dairy cooperative Valio is in change negotiations with employees which affects Valio’s Finnish headquarters functions, technical services, maintenance and factory services. A total of 1170 people are within the scope of the negotiations. The change negotiations deal with potential dismissals of employment and material changes to the terms and conditions of employment, such as changes in job descriptions or in the content of the job duties. Potential headcount reductions will affect up to 130 people and the planned material changes to the terms and conditions of employment will affect up to 135 people. Valio employs about 4300 people of which 3700 in Finland. The reasons for the negotiations are production and economic reasons, according to Valio.

In Norway dairy farmers produce not enough milk to meet the national consumption of milk and dairy products. Because of that the largest Norwegian dairy cooperative Tine has got permission to add a maximum of three percent of imported milk to dairy products that carry the label „of Norwegian origin“. Tine uses imported milk powder for the production of yoghurt.

In the European Union in 2022 for the first time since 2010 less milk was produced. In 2022, the total milk production of 160 million tons was 0.3 million tons less than in 2021. Almost three quarters (70%) of the milk was processed into cheese and butter. Germany was the largest producer of cheese and butter.

Six European and American dairies and food companies Bel Group, Danone, Nestlé, Lactalis, General Mills and Kraft Heinz together with the international Environmental Defense Fund have at COP 28 in Dubai launched the Dairy Methane Action Alliance (DMAA). The companies will set a new standard for accountability, transparency, and climate action. They are the first to commit to annually account and publicly disclose methane emissions within their dairy supply chains, and they are each pledging to create and implement a comprehensive methane action plan. Environmental Defense Fund is taking the lead in the Dairy Methane Action Alliance and is offering companies technical support and best practices for accounting and disclosure and access to research and solutions. The sustainability nonprofit Ceres will provide technical guidance support and lead the development of a methane action plan template that aligns with investor and corporate expectations as well as helping to ensure companies are making progress against key plan milestones.

The France headquartered and stock market listed dairy Danone will become the first corporate funder of the Enteric Fermentation R&D Accelerator, the largest ever globally coordinated research effort on enteric methane, coordinated by the Global Methane Hub and supported by an alliance of philanthropic organizations and governments. The Accelerator, which has already raised USD 200 million (185 million euro) in funding, will invest in breakthrough research and innovation to create new scalable and practical solutions for livestock farmers that can mitigate enteric fermentation, which is the digestive process of ruminant livestock. Research will include mitigation of methane via feed additives, plant and animal genetics, methane vaccines, as well as accessible and affordable measurement technologies.

In Germany in November 2023 compared to October 2023 the raw material or compound value of milk at farm increased 3.8 eurocent to 43.0 eurocent per kilogram milk with 4.0 percent fat and 3.4 percent protein (exclusive VAT). This is 8.9 eurocent less than in the same month one year before. The highest future price of milk for the next 18 months on the Kieler Börsenmilchwert European Energy Exchange is the price for April and May 2025 at 50.5 eurocent. The lowest future price is the price for January 2024 at 42.6 eurocent.

In northern Germany the game and livestock disease hemorrhagic sepsis is spreading. The disease is susceptible to domestic and wild ruminants (cattle, buffalo, goats, sheep, deer) and also to pigs. The disease can cause death after two days. The disease is caused by certain types of the bacterium Pasteurella multocida. Asymptomatically infected or sick wildlife, including wolves, are considered as possible source of infection

Dairy farms in Germany and in other countries that are members of the international organic association Naturland will from 2024 only be allowed to use half the amount of feed compounds that compete with human food than would be permitted under EU organic regulations. Naturland which is founded in Germany but active in 60 countries worldwide, limits the use of concentrates for dairy cows to a maximum of 20 percent of the annual ration. The only exception to this are animal feeds that emphatically do not compete with human food, for example spent grains. The upper limit of 40 percent set in the EU organic regulation still applies to them. According to the organic association, avoiding food competition increases the sustainability and climate-friendliness of dairy farming.

In Germany in the milk production control year 2022/2023 average milk production was 9378 kilogram milk with 4.09 percent fat and 3.48 percent protein. This was 252 kilogram milk more than in the previous year. There were 3.27 million cows tested. This was 44500 cows less than in the previous year. Tested herds had average 95.6 cows with a variety of average 57 cows in the southern state Bavaria and 456 cows in the eastern state Berlin-Brandenburg. Average somatic cell count was 230000 cells per millilitre. Of the tested cows 77.3 percent had a cell count less than 200000. In the southern state Bavaria where the most cows were tested (892451) average production was 8337 kilogram milk with 4.18 percent fat and 3.52 percent protein. However: the highest average milk production was realized in the eastern state Sachsen-Anhalt were 88500 cows tested 10470 kilogram milk with 3.97 percent fat and 3.45 percent protein.

In Belgium research at the University of Ghent has shown that cow milk contains easily measurable substances that provide information about the cow’s energy balance and the risk of chronic milk fever. This can be measured quickly with a method comparable to Near Infra-Red Analysis, which means it could also be measured on the farm. Until now to get this information required expensive and time-consuming blood analysis.

In Belgium from January 1, 2024 every member of the Belgian Feed Association (BFA) will use measures to limit methane emissions from cattle on Flemish farms. In 2019, the BFA decided, together with the government, researchers and chain partners from the Flemish agriculture, dairy and meat industry, to reduce methane emissions from cattle by 26 percent by 2030 compared to 2016. To this end, a strong focus was placed on developing feeding measures. The ration of Flemish cattle is therefore adjusted in such a way that the cow’s digestive process is influenced, resulting in the cow producing less methane. Livestock farmers who apply a feeding measure and incur higher costs can be partially reimbursed by the government. The Belgian Feed Association has 133 animal feed producers as members. They represent 93 percent of Belgian animal feed production.

In Belgium at the European dairy summit in Brussels, the German professor Windisch from the Technical University of Munich stated that the production of a glass of oat drink theoretically also produces a glass of cow milk. This is due to the by-products of oat milk, which are not edible for humans but are edible for ruminants. He also stated that methane emissions from livestock are often exaggerated because methane has a half-life of only twelve years and is therefore broken down much faster than CO2. If there were no more ruminants, this would only save less than one percent of methane emissions, according to the professor.

In Holland the so-called eco scheme in which farmers receive extra EU subsidy for measures that increase sustainability has been such a great success that there is not enough money to pay the promised subsidy. Because farmers are disappointed and members of the parliament have asked questions about, the government has asked the EU permission to supplement the promised subsidy from the Dutch treasury up to the promised amount.

In Holland the dairy cooperative DOC, which is since 2016 a subsidiary of the German dairy cooperative DMK, is introducing a new sustainability program that can provide dairy farmers with a bonus of five euro cents per litre of milk. This is on top of the pasture premium of 1.5 cents per kilogram of milk. Among the 40 conditions the cows their feed must be GMO-free, the roughage fodder must be grown within a radius of 50 kilometres from the farm, grassland must contain sufficient herbs and the CO2 footprint must be less than 1250 grams per kilogram of milk. The program focuses on cheese. This will be produced by DMK subsidiary Uniekaas and sold by discounter Jumbo.

In Holland practical research by Wageningen University & Research shows that fresh grass in the ration of cows helps to reduce methane and ammonia emissions.

In Holland more than 300 dairy farms have signed up for a voluntary government purchase scheme with the aim of limiting ammonia emissions and deposition.

In Great Britain three years ago the healthy cow index was introduced to help dairy farmers to choose sires. This provided dairy farmers a single genetic figure of which bulls were predicted to transmit the best overall health to their daughters. It has resulted in reductions in mastitis and lameness, better fertility and longer lifespans. For mastitis third calvers by the best 25 percent (Q1) sires had a 12.2 percent incidence, compared with 24.9 percent in daughters of Q4 bulls. A similar relationship is shown through all age groups. For lameness fifth calver daughters of Q1 bulls showed 13.3 percent compared with 19.2 percent for the same age group sired by the lowest quartile sires. For fertility the calving interval in every age group, the difference between Q1 and Q4 daughters was 11 or 12 days. For lifespans daughters of Q1 bulls were found to live, on average, an extra half lactation longer than those by Q4 HC bulls. Source: AHDB