An interview with Jeff Thiry

Junior Manager at Thiry dairy and farm, member of D'fair Mëllech

Jeff, why don’t you tell us a bit about your farm?

We own a small family farm in the little town of Schuller, in the South of Luxembourg, with around 65-70 Fleckvieh dairy cows. We raise fattening bulls, have laying hens and a broiler house, and in 2013, we also set up our own small dairy. We grow corn and grass to produce most of our fodder, and only buy in a small amount of concentrated feed – all GMO-free. D’fair Mëllech is the Luxembourg Fair Milk project and with the other members, we follow our specifications that were drafted with the help of an environmental organisation and make additional contributions to protecting the environment and the climate. We plant new trees and hedges, for example, or reduce the use of fertilizer on some areas.

Can you tell us more about the Thiry dairy and how you came up with this idea?

My wife, brother, parents and myself work on the farm with three employees. For a long time, my parents had about 30 cows, and when my brother and I decided to take over the farm together, we had between 40 and 50 cows. We then wondered how to create more value on the farm to guarantee an income for two to three families. Since land is expensive in southern Luxembourg and we didn’t want to displace our neighbours, extending the farm was not an option. That’s how we came up with the idea to build our own farm dairy to create more value through direct processing.

And where does D’fair Mëllech come into play?

Our dairy processes a share of our milk. For D’fair Mëllech, we produce fresh milk and chocolate milk as well as different types of yoghurts and ice creams. We also deliver D’fair Mëllech products to schools, nursery schools and other public institutions, among others.

When and why did you decide to join D’fair Mëllech and what’s your role?

We co-founded the project back in 2010. My brother and I were still in school, but our father had already been fighting for better prices. He always took part in the demonstrations and actions in Brussels. Back then, consumers increasingly started to ask how they could help and which milk they should buy to support us. Our father was a member of the board until last year, but he has now freed up his spot so that motivated and active youngsters can take over. Our entire family is committed to the D’fair Mëllech project, meaning that we don’t just fill in our mandatory hours, but do a lot more work behind the scenes.

What lessons have you drawn from D’fair Mëllech?

Marketing a brand created by and for farmers takes a lot of work. You have to keep chasing down the retailers to get your products listed. I’ve also learnt that doing business with retailers is tough: you start to understand that the reason why farmers can’t get a good price is because retailers are so harsh towards dairies. However, becoming involved with D’fair Mëllech was worth it because a good amount of extra money ends up going to the farms.

How are things going with the farm dairy and D’fair Mëllech? Have you come up with new ideas?

We have to work on making ourselves better known, to get listed by more retailers and have our entire product range on the shelves of the supermarkets that are already selling D’fair Mëllech products. We have new ideas and projects in mind for both Thiry and D’fair Mëllech. Nevertheless, I believe that we will first have to lay the focus on broadening and strengthening the roots of our successful project.

And as a young dairy farmer, how do you see the future? What advice would you give to your European peers?

Producing milk will undoubtedly be more difficult in the future, especially after so many years of low milk prices. But at the same time, farmers will always be needed. Perhaps we will not only produce milk, but whatever it is retailers and consumers want. We might have to think about creating new products or establishing more self- and/or direct marketing channels. I also think that having several sources of income is key. Today, you have to use your head a lot more to earn money, and therefore you have to be creative and agile. I’m confident that my children will have a future on the farm, because these are attributes that unite producers around the EMB and Fair Milk projects.

Jeff, many thanks for your time and we wish you good luck with D’fair Mëllech and the Thiry dairy.

Simon Bauer, European Milk Board

French consumers have become more sensitive to sustainable production – despite the Covid-19 pandemic and the major disruptions it caused in 2020. Here are some figures proving this trend: from 2013 to 2016, FaireFrance sold about 15 million litres of milk, whereas in 2020, sales skyrocketed to around 14 million litres in a single year.

Despite the Covid-19 pandemic, the 500 members of the FaireFrance cooperative were able to organize in-store tastings and meet consumers. FaireFrance is the only French milk brand to offer so many events in supermarkets. “We explain to consumers what our cartons contain, and these types of meetings are important for both the consumers and the farmers, the latter becoming their own ambassadors and approaching supermarkets and promoting their brand themselves”, says Jean-Luc Pruvot, a farmer from Parfondeval in the Aisne departement. Although he also works as an inseminator and milks 117 cows each day, he still finds the time to fulfil his duties as president of the brand.

This cooperative’s ultimate goal is to convince more supermarkets and consumers that buying fair milk can make a difference. Last year for instance FaireFrance signed a partnership with ALDI France.

Jean-Luc puts it very well: “France will always need farmers to feed its inhabitants.” But what’s in it for farmers? If you crunch the numbers, over EUR 1,400,000 were paid out to member farmers in 2020, enough to boost the morale of a sector that desperately needs it!

Maxime Lefebvre, FaireFrance project coordinator