Kategorie: News

In Northern Ireland in 2021 a number of 40 farms started dairy farming. Most of them changed from beef (suckling) to dairy.

In Northern Ireland, scientists of the university of Belfast will start practical research on dairy farms with adding seaweed to the diet of dairy cows. On base of provisional research they expect that the seaweed can decrease the emission of ammonia from cows by 30 percent. They will use varieties of seaweed that do not contain the poisonous bromoform.

The Denmark headquartered dairy cooperative Arla has a new target to cut 63 percent of the greenhouse gas emissions from production, logistics and energy usage by 2030 from a 2015 base year. This is doubling the previous 30 percent reduction goal. Between 2015 and 2020 Arla has reduced its emissions from operations by 24 percent. The next steps include a transition to fossil free fuels for the full fleet of milk tankers and distribution trucks through biodiesel, biogas and electric vehicles. Also Arla aims a shift to renewable electricity and low-energy solutions across the company’s production sites and offices. The new 2030 target is consistent with reductions required to keep warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius, the most ambitious goal of the Paris Agreement.

In Austria starting January 1, 2022 milk deliveries to Austrian dairies will be converted by a factor of 1.03 litres into kilograms. Currently, a conversion factor of 1.025 still applies. Milk is measured almost exclusively volumetrically in litres when it is collected from the farm. The litres are then converted into kilograms by a factor. This is the basis for the payment of the milk money to the farmers. The specific gravity of milk is 1.03, although small fluctuations are possible due to seasonal changes in the ingredients (fat, protein, lactose). Due to the earlier conditions of milk reception in milk truck and the associated slight air confinement during suction, the conversion factor in Austria was already set at 1.025 in the 1970s. The increase in the conversion factor to the fixed amount of 1.03 from 1 January 2022 takes into account the technical development of the milk receiving devices and the use of ever larger milk tanks on the farm.

In France, the Breton private dairy Triballat Noyal has introduced under the brand Pâquerette & Compagnie a mix of drink milk and vegetable drink. There are three varieties: oats, almond and hazelnut.

In France, the private dairy Danone will invest in 2022 43 million euro in the Villecomtal-sur-Arros site in the southern department Gers to change this from milk processing to the production of vegetable (UHT) drinks, mainly based on oats for the Alpro brand. Alpro is owned by Danone. This year (2021) Danone (Alpro) invested 16.5 million euros in the Alpro site in Issenheim in the northern department Bas-Rhin. According to Danone, the plant food market has tripled in the past seven years and is expected to grow further 50 percent by 2025 in France. With this project, Danone plans to increase the production capacity of UHT vegetable drinks of + 25 percent by 2024 in France. The around 200 dairy farmers that current deliver milk to the Villecomtal-sur-Arros plant have to look for another dairy that will pick up their milk.

In Germany in November compared to October the raw material or compound value of milk at farm increased 6.8 eurocent to 50.1 eurocent per kilogram milk with 4.0 percent fat and 3.4 percent protein (exclusive VAT). This is 18.5 eurocent (58.5 percent) more than in the same month last year. The highest future price of milk for the next 18 months on the Kieler Börsenmilchwert European Energy Exchange is the price for February 2022 and March 2022 at 54.4 eurocent. The lowest future price is the price for January till April 2023 May 2023 and June 2023 at 46.3 eurocent.

In Germany according to the data on milk production costs in the German organic milk sector have been compiled by the German Farm Economics and Rural Studies Office (BAL) and is updated every year, organic dairy farmers were paid on average 48.66 cents per kilogramme of organic milk for the marketing year 2020/21. According to these calculations, however, the production costs amount to 64.39 cent per kilogramme when producers also receive fair remuneration for their work. Producers were faced with a cost shortfall of 24 per cent. Over the years from 2016/17 to 2020/21, organic dairy farmers spent an average 51.98 cents exclusively on farming inputs and general operating costs without wages. The Milk Marker Index (MMI) for organic milk charts the evolution of organic milk production costs. For the marketing year 2020/21, the MMI for organic milk was 96, which means that production costs for German organic milk producers reduced by four percent as compared to the reference year 2015/16 (2015/16 = 100). The price/cost ratio shows to what extent producer prices cover milk production costs on organic dairy farms. In the marketing year 2020/21, the milk price covered 76 percent of the farmers production costs.

In Germany the use of sexed semen is increasing. Of all first inseminations of dairy cattle it is four percent, of only dairy cows it is two percent but of the first inseminations of Holstein Friesian heifers it is 12 percent.

The Holland headquartered dairy cooperative Royal FrieslandCamina has introduced plant based protein products. It are two drinks and a powder shake, all with the brand name Plantaris. They have been developed in cooperation with the AGT Foods an international supplier of vegetable food ingredients.

In Holland the dairy cooperative Royal FrieslandCampina and the feed cooperative Royal Agrifirm are joining forces for the purpose to create a physically separated supply stream of guaranteed deforestation-free soy for livestock feed. In the course of 2022, deforestation-free soy for livestock will be supplied by Agrifirm to RFC member dairy farmers. Since 2015, FrieslandCampina members are only allowed to purchase from livestock feed companies that are certified in accordance with the GMP+ scope responsible dairy feed (sustainable RTRS soy). Currently, approximately 99.5 percent of the soy in livestock feed comes from deforestation-free sources. Despite this certification and the checks carried out, it cannot be guaranteed for 100 percent that the soy supplied is produced entirely without deforestation. This is why RFC together with Agrifirm has taken the initiative to get this 100 percent deforestation-free ’stream‘ going, according to RFC. Founded in 2006 in Zürich, Switzerland, the RTRS – Round Table on Responsible Soy Association – is a non-profit organisation promoting the growth of production, trade, and use of responsible soy. It works through cooperation with those in, and related to, the soy value chain, from production to consumption. It does this through a global platform for multi-stakeholder dialogue on responsible soy and the development, implementation and verification of a global certification standard.

In Holland the Board of dairy cooperative Royal FrieslandCampina has for the first time a Chair who is not a dairy farmer by himself. To make this possible the statures of RFC had to be changed. The new Chair: mr. Sybren Attema was in the past a dairy farmer and held until 2010 board positions at various legal predecessors of FrieslandCampina for eighteen years. As Chairman of Friesland Foods, he was closely involved in the merger of Friesland Foods with Campina, and subsequently he held the role of Vice-Chairman of Royal FrieslandCampina for two years. In 2010 Attema stopped dairy farming and stepped down from his board duties to join RFC as Regional Manager of its Dairy Development Programme in Southeast Asia, a role he fulfilled until 2019.

In Holland the Cefetra Group, one of the largest European importers of cereal and oil meals has entered the dairy products trade with a wide range of dairy products such as cheese, butter and milk powder as well as milk alternatives under Cefetra Dairy.

In Holland research of Wageningen University & Research shows that a lower phosphorus content in the diet of dry cows and fresh cows get in this periods a higher calcium level in their blood and have a lower risk of milk fever. The dry cows got 2.2 gram phosphorus in their ration and eight weeks after calving 2.9 gram.

In Holland representatives of the dairy farmers and industry and the ministry of agriculture have made an agreement about measures that have to be taken by dairy farmers to decrease the emission of ammonia. To the measures belong a lowering of the protein content of rations from 167 gram per kilogram in 2018 to 160 gram in 2025. In 2025 on 50 percent of grassland on sandy soils must water be added to slurry manure when adding it to the soil. Pasturing cows have per year to be 180 hours more on pasture. It is the individual farmers their choice how they will implement the new measures.

In Holland starts Wageningen University & Research a research project with analysing the breath of cows as an indicator of the health of individual cows, also in relation to milk production. For this has been installed the first sniffer on the first of 100 dairy farm with more than 10000 cows on which methane and CO2 concentrations will be recorded over the next two years. All measurements take place in the milking robot, which enables information to be collected on each cow individually during milking. The collected data that will form the basis for developing a new breeding value for methane. Previous research based on measurements at 15 farms has shown that there is an important genetic component to this. First analysis show heritability for methane emissions of 20 to 30 percent.

Great Britain had on October 1, 2021 a number of 1.67 million dairy cows which was 1.7 percent less than one year before. However: the number of youngstock was 932000 head which was 5.3 percent more than one year before.

In the United Kingdom from January 2022, Arla and Starbucks will develop and pilot a new sustainable dairy sourcing blueprint for Starbucks, designed to help reduce the coffee chains carbon emissions from dairy. At the end of the three-year pilot, Starbucks hopes to scale the blueprint to support Starbucks dairy suppliers across Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA). The pilot will work with 14 of Arla’s UK farmer owners, Arla and an independent advisor appointed by Starbucks. Starbucks will also be working with scientists from The Nature Conservancy, a global, and environmental stewardship non-profit who will support the partnership. Dairy emissions account for 22 percent of Starbucks global carbon emissions. Starbucks target is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 50 percent globally and Arla’s target is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 30 percent per kilogram of milk by 2030.

In Ireland an analysis of Teagasc shows that in 2020 the average dairy farm had a phosphorus balance (excess of inputs over outputs) of 12.3 kilogram surplus per hectare.

In Ireland analysis of Teagasc show that in 2020 the average dairy farm emitted 8.61 tonnes of CO2 equivalent per hectare and 0.81 kilogram CO2 equivalent per kilogram of milk produced and per kilogram of fat and protein corrected milk (FPCM), which is standardized to 4 percent fat and 3.3 percent protein per kilogram of milk 0.79 kg CO2 equivalent per kg of FPCM produced. The average dairy farm emitted 0.0044 kilogram of NH3 per kilogram of FPCM produced.