Brussels: The European Milk Board (EMB) will now be headed by its new Chair, Danish milk producer Kjartan Poulsen. At the EMB’s recent General Assembly, German BDM representative Elmar Hannen was also elected Deputy Chair. The previous Executive Committee members Boris Gondouin from APLI (France), Belgian MIG representative Guy Francq, his Irish colleague Pat McCormack from the ICMSA and Roberto Cavaliere from the APL (Italy) were re-elected to the Executive Committee.

The agricultural census conducted by the French Ministry of Agriculture every ten years gives us an overview of the French farming landscape and the trends inherent to ten-yearly developments across the country. Its latest publication on 10 December 2021 shows a 21% fall in the number of farms across all types of production.

East Belgium: In recent years, the Fairebel label has become synonymous with fair agricultural products of the highest quality. What began as a reaction to the milk crisis in 2009, developed into a real success story. “At a time when farmers feared for their livelihoods due to rock-bottom milk prices, they received no solutions from policy-makers and decided that it was time to take things into their own hands”, remembers Faircoop President, Erwin Schöpges.

Through our cooperative "Faire Milch Säuliamt", we sell two types of pasteurised milk in the eleven branches of the VOLG chain of stores. Unfortunately, it is not possible for us to sell more dairy products via this channel.

It would be difficult to find a dairy farmer who was left unscathed by the milk crisis of 2009. Rozenn Angenard, dairy farmer in the Ille-et-Vilaine department in Brittany, as well as Isabelle Rouyer and Cédric Dumaine, from the Orne department in Normandy, remember this period where they poured away their milk to protest the rock-bottom milk prices.

With the Fair Milk project, producers do not just advocate for their profession, they also take action to help people in need. As this project belongs to dairy farmers and is managed by them alone, they can react quickly and make their small contribution through Fair Milk.

Please read on for reports from different Fair Milk countries about their concrete action during crises.

We – the European farmers of ECVC and the European Milk Board who, as agricultural producers, are at the heart of food production – regard the current state of EU production systems with great concern. Unless action is taken immediately, it will no longer be possible to guarantee food security in the EU, i.e. the supply of key foodstuffs.

During the milk strike or while spraying the European Parliament in Brussels with milk, on World Milk Day alongside Manneken Pis or at the innumerable Fair Milk tastings in or outside supermarkets, at Europe-wide protests, agricultural fairs and press conferences or in many, many fields at the heart of Europe: Faironika, the EMB’s symbolic cow in different national colours has stood with farmers for 15 years and embodies their call for fair milk prices.

In Lithuania, farmers are disappointed at the way in which the Lithuanian CAP Strategic Plan was prepared. The Lithuanian Ministry of Agriculture worked on the Strategic Plan behind closed doors, excluding farmers from the process and not taking their input into account. As a result, dairy farmers are not happy with the outcome of the Lithuanian Strategic Plan.

We asked our Fair Milk producers to look back on 2022 and to give us their forecast for the coming year. Assessments differ from country to country, but all agree that Fair Milk is still necessary.