In light of globally increasing milk deliveries and repeated warnings from many dairies of higher than average milk collection, the German dairy farmers' association BDM invited the members of the Committee on Agriculture of the Saxony-Anhalt government to an extraordinary dairy sector meeting in mid-December. 

Global markets were put under pressure in recent weeks and within a short period of time, the seller's market became a buyer's market. According to the ZMB, which provides data on dairy markets worldwide, milk deliveries in Germany increased by 3.7% in December 2017 as compared to the corresponding month of the previous year. In other major European milk producers like France, Poland and Ireland as well, deliveries showed an upward trend as compared to the previous year. 

In light of this increase in milk volumes, dairies are warning their members and suppliers that prices could fall below 30 cents/kg in 2018. Even the dairy sector president of the German Farmers' Association Karsten Schmal issued a warning recently to dairy farmers that they should not produce more than needed. 

"More than correct analyses, it is important to draw the right conclusions from them," underlines Peter Schuchmann, a dairy farmer from Saxony-Anhalt. "Simple calls for volume discipline are not enough to stave off future crises. This is why the German government must advocate for the reinforcement of European-level crisis prevention instruments in Brussels and further expand the safety net for the dairy market." 

Johannes Fritz,  German dairy farmers’ association (BDM)

The exhibition is a travel report with a specific goal, and therefore it was quite appropriate that the travellers themselves – Ms Kerstin Lanje, advisor for global trade and food at Misereor, and Mr Christoph Lutze, farmer and member of the BDM board in Schleswig-Holstein – spoke about their trip to Burkina Faso at the opening event.

Ms Lanje quickly moved on to the specificities of the dairy market. She asked the audience: "How much milk do you consume per day?" Very few managed a whole litre, not even the dairy farmers who made up most of the audience. Ms Lanje displayed a world map showing average fresh milk consumption. All of northern Europe was shaded a solid dark blue indicating high consumption, while large areas of Africa and Asia remained light blue, signifying very low consumption. It is far from possible to sell the increased European fresh milk production within Europe; dairies are therefore turning to international markets, leading to milk being converted to skimmed milk powder for export. A graph showed how EU exports have increased from 30,000 tons in 2003 to almost 70,000 tons in 2014. How are these exports affecting West Africa? The delegation travelled to Burkina Faso in May 2016 to delve further into this question.

"We specifically looked for milk powder in markets and quickly discovered that most of it came from Danone and Nestle," reported Christoph Lutze. "We found milk powder, and right next to it pesticides and veterinary drugs with English labelling, all in a country where French is the official language and 60 other languages are spoken - languages, not dialects," highlighted Mr Lutze. Fresh milk was also sold in markets; however, it was unrefrigerated at a daytime temperature of 30-40°C.

The delegation visited markets, milk producers and dairies throughout the country. Together with the Burkinabe organisation Pasmep, Misereor supports the creation of micro-dairies, where milk is pasteurised and cooled, to then be sold in nearby markets. With the advent of the rainy season when fodder plants thrive, cows produce more milk which can then be processed into yoghurt, which has a longer shelf-life. Such initiatives lay the foundation for the positive, independent development of a local dairy market. Cheap milk powder from Europe, however, spells the destruction of such markets. Even at the European Representation in Burkina Faso's capital Ouagadougou, the delegation was present with representatives from Pasmep. The problematic situation was described and a document was signed. Mr Lutze was, nonetheless, not completely convinced that those working at the European Representation were really interested in the situation of small milk producers in their own country.

In the discussion that followed, questions regarding the responsibility of milk producers and dairies in Europe as well as possible solutions were raised. That farmers should take charge of milk processing and sales once again was a suggestion that came from the audience. "In fact, the dairy cooperatives here in East Frisia also started very small," explained Ottmar Ilchmann. Today, the small players are gone, a number of dairies have merged and have become big companies that are global players in the food industry, and therefore welcome this structural change. At the end of the day, it is easier to reach an agreement with a few large operations producing milk, rather than with a number of smaller ones.

Interested parties and school groups are invited to visit the exhibition and to discuss the issues it raises. You can book an appointment with Annette Berndt at annette.berndt@ewetel.net.

Ottmar Ilchmann, Regional head of AbL – the German small farmers' association

Pat McCormack will succeed John Comer as President of the Association for an initial three-year period. At a National Council in Limerick, Mr. McCormack, a 40-year old dairy farmer from Tipperary who had served as Deputy President for the last six years and was a previous chair of the Dairy Committee, was unopposed.

In his first public statement, Mr. McCormack paid tribute to his predecessor, John Comer, and said that while ICMSA will continue to work for and with any group or individual interested in highlighting rural issues, the organisation’s focus will always remain the income of its core family dairy farm membership and the milk price on which that income depends. He said that ICMSA refused to accept that the farmers who produced the milk on which a whole multi-billion euro dairy sector was built could be considered as some kind of afterthought at the mercy of either the processors or the retailers.

The new President also identified Brexit, Mercosur, CAP and the Environment as issues that would dominate the opening period of his presidency. Mr. McCormack said that ICMSA would continue to work within its traditional of rational and positive solutions aimed at ensuring that the voice of Ireland’s dairy farmers was heard ‘Loud and Clear’ in the formation of policy for our farming and agri-food sectors.

ICMSA press release of 20 December 2017