Irish Organic Infant Formula - Republic of Ireland
Ireland’s low-cost pasture-based system of milk production is economically competitive for the production of infant formula. However, organic dairy production is a relatively small but growing sector of the industry. (...)
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Les Laitiers Responsables (LLR) sector, a Sodiaal cooperative’s initiative - Brittany
LLR (Les Laitiers Responsables, Responsible Milkmen) has been launched in 2018 to adapt to the evoluting societal expectations : animal welfare, environmental impacts of products, their origin and also remuneration of the farmers…(...)
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Behieko Brand: a collective brand hold by 3 organic dairy farms - Basque Country
Behieko is a brand shared by three dairy cattle farms from three municipalities of the Basque Country (Anoeta, Altzo and Olaberria). They produce and market organic milk and a wide range of dairy products. (...)
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ECONOMIC SUCCESS OF DAIRY FARMS: What are the issues for farmers in the Atlantic Area?
From Northern Ireland to Portugal, 89 farmers in the Atlantic area responded to a survey to assess the effect of external factors on the economic success of their business.
The online survey, addressed to the pilot farmers of the European Dairy4Future project, was carried out in spring 2020. A total of 34 Portuguese, 17 French, 16 Spanish, 11 Irish and 11 UK farmers were surveyed. Recruited for their technical and economic efficiency and their capacity for innovation, these pilot farms are not representative of the average dairy farm in their regions. Nevertheless, their answers highlight the challenges faced by European dairy farmers.
Type of dairy contract: the key to economic success for Irish and UK farmers
For the majority of surveyed farmers (64%), the type of dairy contract they have is favorable to their business. Several parameters that differ between countries and dairy operators must be considered when interpreting this result: the limited production volume, the price fixing mechanism, the period of commitment, etc. For example, all of the Irish farmers surveyed and ¾ of the UK farmers affirmed that they had no restrictions on the volume of milk they could produce. The answers also show disparities in the way prices are set. In Ireland and the UK, contracts with guaranteed milk prices or covering production costs have largely developed, while in France, Spain and Portugal they are still difficult to be deployed.
Bank loans: more or less favorable access conditions depending on the country
The decrease in bank interest rates is a favorable context for investments. The results of the survey show that 61% of dairy farmers say that the access to credit is favorable to their business. When asked about the qualifications of their bank advisor, French, Irish and UK farmers affirm that their bank advisor is at least specialized in the agricultural sector (or even dairy). In contrast, for ¾ of the Portuguese dairy farmers, the bank advisors are non-specialized. This result suggest a contrasting level of attractiveness of the dairy sector for banking organizations from one region to another.
High environmental constraints and a lack of political support according to Spanish and Portuguese farmers
Only one Spanish farmer in 8 considered that the current environmental standards are favorable to their business, compared to 75% of the surveyed Irish farmers. These contrasting results reflect the diversity of dairy systems and levels of intensification along the Atlantic area. In Galicia and the Spanish Basque Country, the large surplus of slurry is difficult to spread locally (few areas under cultivation) and it affects the profitability of farms (transport of effluents to other regions, investment in treatment infrastructures, etc.). The farmers' responses also show a variable application of European legislative measures. Ireland and UK have a derogation from the ceiling of organic nitrogen that can be spread in vulnerable zones (170 kg N/ha), as defined in the Water Framework Directive.
As with environmental standards, there is a strong contrast in terms of the national policy's effect on the economic success of farmers, depending on the country of origin. These results highlight very different national policy strategies since the end of quotas in 2015. Ireland, which has increased its national production by more than 40% in 10 years, has set up national strategy to support this expansion: establishment of training programs, creation of a health management organization, investments in processing plants, etc. A situation at the complete opposite of Portugal and especially the Azores, where all the farmers surveyed say that the national policy was not favorable to them and regret the lack of basic infrastructures (milking parlour, refrigerated tank, etc.).
Access to the land, agricultural equipment prices, availability of labor, public perception dairy farming: challenges faced by all livestock farmers
Access to the land is considered an unfavorable factor for the economic success of dairy farms, for 76% of the surveyed farmers. This result is closely linked to the price of land in the regions studied. In Spain, Ireland and the United Kingdom, the price of agricultural land is between 20 and 30 thousand euros per hectare. In the Azores, where 1/3 of the Portuguese milk production is realized, the cost of land reaches more than 40 thousand €/ha and the majority of the farmers are renting land.
Despite a favorable banking context for investments, the majority of the farmers surveyed also underline the high price of agricultural equipments (material, installations and buildings) which weakens the economic health of the farms.
Finally, farmers testify to the lack of recognition of their profession by the rest of society. The negative externalities of dairy farming are widely decried in the media, while the rendered services are poorly highlighted. This negative perception of dairy farming has serious consequences according to the farmers: lack of labor, decrease of attractiveness of the profession, evolution in the demand for dairy products, etc.
Dairy sectors that are organizing to support farmers
In response to the challenges faced by farmers, initiatives have been taken by sector stakeholders to improve the resilience of dairy farms. These are mainly solutions related to the nature of the dairy contract, for example by ensuring stability in the milk price paid to farmers, or by remunerating practices that meet consumers' expectations ( increasing grazing time, GMO-free feed, improving animal welfare and biodiversity, etc.).
Regarding the financing of dairy investments, several original tools are being developed. In Ireland, for example, the development of flexible loans specific to dairy farming (e.g. MilkFlex) facilitates access to credit by adjusting repayment terms according to movements in the milk price.
Finally, research and development organizations also support farmers by helping them to make the transition to practices in line with societal expectations and/or regulations, and by enhancing the attractiveness of dairy farming to address the lack of labour.
[Survey] Are the following factors favorable or unfavorable to the economic success of your dairy operation?
Results expressed as % of respondents
For more information, please download the Action 5.3 report.
Download – 20210520_Dairy4future_D5.3
Organic grass-fed milk MILHAFRE - Azores
Milhafre (goshawk) is a well known dairy brand from the Azores Islands in the central North Atlantic, approximately 2,500 km west of Lisbon, Portugal. The brand has a long history in dairy production. (...)
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Agricultural Knowledge and Innovation Systems (AKIS): past, present and future in the Atlantic Area dairy sector
Martina Dorigo, AHDB – Dairy4Future partner for England and Wales
New knowledge and innovation have always supported the evolution of agriculture, especially since the post-second World War, when agriculture was a key sector and its objectives were to increase the food supply to the population and to secure income for farmers. In the dairy sector, the use of new knowledge and innovation has allowed the productivity increase in the last decades and is now critical to improve resilience, competitiveness and sustainability, which are the core of the Dairy-4-Future project.
Dissemination of any newly created knowledge and innovation is necessary to a successful uptake: the AKIS (Agricultural Knowledge and Innovation Systems) concept helps to understand better the generation and dissemination process, describing the organisations and individuals involved and the complex interactions among them.
As shown in this graph, universities, research centres, training organisations, consultants, supply chains, farmers’ organisations etc. are all AKIS players engaged in the task of creating, communicating and putting into practice innovative solutions for the dairy sector. Farmers are always the natural end users of these innovations, but they also play a critical role in creating and disseminating knowledge and innovation themselves.
Whilst the AKIS have historically developed differently across the Atlantic Area, with different levels of integration and strength, the common theme across countries is the continuous adaptation of the AKIS to the challenges faced by dairy farming: as such, they share common strengths and weaknesses, which have been highlighted in the Dairy-4-Future project by appointed experts in each country/region.
What are the main actions to increase the AKIS’ effectiveness in connecting science and practice and foster innovation? The 2019 EU SCAR Report “Preparing for Future AKIS in Europe” has identified four main actions for successful AKIS strategies:
- Enhancing knowledge flows and strengthening links between research and practice to support broad availability of independent advice and to maintain the researchers’ motivation through a more collaborative work with the other AKIS players
- Strengthening all farm advisory services and fostering their interconnection within the AKIS, allowing those closest to the farmers to easily access and transfer the latest knowledge and innovation, ideally by involving them in several stages of the projects.
- Enhancing cross-thematic and cross-border interactive innovation, to help access and develop new ideas and innovations.
- Supporting the digital transition in agriculture
Other suggestions coming from the dairy-4-Future experts are listed below
Resilience, competitiveness and sustainability will become increasingly important in the future years to ensure a thriving dairy farming sector: a strong, adaptable and innovative AKIS will be key to achieve these objectives.
CAFRE CALF 2020 – SUSTAINABLE CALF REARING WEBINARS
CAFRE had planned to have an Open Day at the new CAFRE Calf Unit this winter. However, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the decision has been taken to hold a series of online webinars in place of the open day. The webinars covered various aspects of the design and management of the new CAFRE Calf Unit.
The series of three Calf 2020 online webinars will be held on consecutive Thursday evenings starting at 8.00pm on 19th November. Each webinar included video presentations from two peakers followed by a live question session. This series of webinars form part of the CAFRE demonstration farm output from the Interreg funded Dairy-4-Future project.
The online webinar programme is detailed below. If you missed the webinars, you can catch up by clicking on the links below.
| Event | Webinar Recording | Speakers |
| 1 | Calf house design | Martin Mulholland, Senior Dairying Technologist, CAFRE Aaron Brown, PhD Student, AFBI Dr Gillian Scoley, Calf Research Scientist, AFBI Michael Graham, Greenmount Farm Manager, CAFRE |
| 2 | Implementing accelerated calf growth | Dr Leonel Leal, Ruminant Researcher, Trouw Nutrition Dr Alastair Boyle, Dairying Technologist, CAFRE Dr Gillian Scoley, Calf Research Scientist, AFBI Michael Graham, Greenmount Farm Manager, CAFRE |
| 3 | Hygiene, welfare, disease control in calf housing | Aaron Brown, PhD Student, AFBI Stephen Gilkinson, Dairying Technologist, CAFRE Dr Brian McAuley BVSc MRCVS, Veterinary Surgeon at Firmount Veterinary Clinic Michael Graham, Greenmount Farm Manager, CAFRE |
Dairy-4-Future - at the very heart of sustainable milk production practises
Article by Richard Halleron, British Dairying
A group of 10 dairy farmers from Northern Ireland are taking part in an Interreg supported Dairy4Future project. The initiative has been established to help milk producers in five regions along Europe’s Atlantic seaboard to learn from each other with the aim of making their businesses more sustainable. Dairy farming is a major economic activity in the EU’s Atlantic Area. The region comprises approximately 20 % of milk production in Europe-28. The area is also home to 80 000 dairy farms; 100 000 dairy farmers and employees plus the 70 000 workers employed in the region’s milk processing sector.
The active participation of the producer-group from Northern Ireland is being coordinated by Martin Mulholland, senior dairying technologist at the College of Agriculture, Food and Rural Enterprise (CAFRE). He operates from the college’s Greenmount campus in Co Antrim. The Dairy4Future project was launched in 2018 and will continue through to 2022. The 4-year, £3.8m project has received 75% funding support from the EU. Economic, environmental and social sustainability of dairy farming will be addressed by the project. A consortium of eleven partners from eight countries including Northern Ireland, Scotland, England, Wales, Ireland, France, Spain and Portugal are involved. In addition, the project has been supported by 21 associate partners including Lakeland Dairies and the UFU in N Ireland.
From Scotland to the Azores, the Dairy-4-Future project aims to increase the competitiveness, sustainability and resilience of dairy farms through the development of
innovative and efficient dairy systems and increased cooperation between research and development stakeholder groups. At the heart of the project are a group of 100 pilot farmers and 10 experimental farms drawn from all the regions involved. Detailed data on economic, environment and social sustainability aspects of dairy farming have been collected and are currently being analysed.
The analysis will assess how the differing management practices across the diverse systems of dairy farming in the Atlantic area can contribute to increasing milk price resilience, reducing ammonia and greenhouse gas emissions and encourage generational renewal on dairy farms in the region. Martin commented: “The 10 farmer-participants from Northern Ireland were selected, following the completion of a CAFRE-cordinated application process.
He added: “Priorities for the group of farmers in question include the identification of ways to improve the sustainability of milk production. “Specifically, this will include aspects of environmental sustainability, including the management of greenhouse gases and ammonia emissions. “We will also be looking at the role of soil phosphate balances and the associated impact on water quality. “Another priority for the project is to identify ways by which antibiotic usage levels within the dairy sector can be reduced through the use of benchmarking techniques.” But Martin is also keen to stress the role of the project in helping to improve the social infrastructure of dairy farming in Northern Ireland. “Succession planning is a key issue in this context,” he said. “All of the farms involved are family-run businesses. Succession is as relevant to milk producers in Brittany or Spain as it is to farmers here in Northern Ireland.” Visiting their farming colleagues in the other regions involved in Dairy4Future will be a key driver for the participating group from Northern Ireland. And this process is already underway.
June of this year saw the 10 farmers undertake a 2-day exchange visit to Brittany. Martin Mulholland again: “The trip included visits to Brittany dairy farms, dinner with local farmers and advisers and a visit to the Derval Experimental farm north of Nantes. “Some of the management practices that particularly impressed the farmers on the exchange visit were the low concentrate use per cow and per litre relative to milk yields. The farmers in question are able too produce up to 8,500L of milk form 1.56t of concentrates. “Grassland management standards on the farms visited was also extremely high; as was the commitment to produce high quality conserved forage quality.
The low nitrogen fertilizer use on the Brittany farms is also worthy of comment as was the the family lifestyle focus of the farmers themselves.” Figures produced by CAFRE, comparing the relative performance of dairy farms in Brittany that hosted the visiting group with the current benchmarking performance levels achieved on the top 10% of benchmarked farms in Northern Ireland are worthy of note. For example, herd size in Brittany ranges from 57 to 100 cows, whereas the Northern Ireland benchmarked figure is 190 head. Average milk yields in Brittany range from 8,470 L to 9,227L. The equivalent benchmarked figure for Northern Ireland is 8538L.
One of the most significant differences in the production practises followed in the two regions is the relatively high significance of forage maize in Brittany. Table 1 gives a full breakdown of the comparative and production differences between the two regions. Martin Mulholland commented: The farmers from Northern Ireland participating in the exchange visit were surprised by the low land prices in Brittany. These range between €5,000 and €10,000 per hectare. “The extent of mixed dairying and cereal cropping on the dairy farms we visited was also significant, as was the relatively low milk output productivity per labour unit on the Brittany dairy farms. “This works out at 309,078L per labour unit, compared to 905,908 on the top 10% farms in Northern Ireland. The lack of drive by Brittany farmers to expand their business was also evident. “However, there was also a strong recognition on the farms we visited of the perceived potential for watercourse pollution from dirty water run-off from farmyards.
Other points gleaned by the visiting farmers to Brittany included the French recognition of the need to put in place sustainable succession plans, the French dairy industry’s commitment to reducing antibiotic residue levels in milk and the varying producer price structures put in place by milk processers in Brittany.The CAFRE representative believes that the dairy4future programme can deliver real benefits for milk producers in Northern Ireland. “There will be a series of publications produced throughout the lifetime of the project, as well as a concluding report,” he said. “All of this work will constitute a resource which practising farmers and students can learn from.”
Part of the work undertaken by the co-ordinating teams in the five regions will be that of assessing conserved forage quality across the 100 pilot farms. Martin Mulholland has been selected as the person responsible for over-seeing this particular aspect of the project. “Forage samples will be taken on all the respective farms over the coming months,” Martin confirmed. “They will be taken by nominated advisors, so as to ensure a high degree of consistency when it comes to the forage sampling process. “All the forages will be analysed by staff in the Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute laboratory at Hillsborough in Co Down.”
Martin Mulholland concluded: “The visit of the dairy farmers from Northern Ireland to Brittany was very successful. There was a good balance between technical and social aspects. “The Dairy4Future programme can help to increase the competitiveness, sustainability and resilience of dairy farms in Northern Ireland. “It will allow those involved to analyse the strengths and weaknesses of the dairy sectors in the five participating regions. “In turn, this will encourage those involved to really assess how they can improve efficiency, using the resources available to them on their own farms. In so doing, they will be acting as role models for other dairy farmers seeking to secure a viable future for themselves and their families.”
Dairy-4-Future Exchange Visit – ECOANTIBIO in France
One of the French innovations experienced during the exchange visit was ‘ECOANTIBIO’, the French National Plan for the reduction of antimicrobial resistance from the use of veterinary medicines. This was of particular interest to the N. Ireland dairy farmers as they have been benchmarking antimicrobial use as part of the project through Stephen Gilkinson in Greenmount Campus, CAFRE.
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French initiative to reduce antibiotic use
Dairy-4-Future Project – Exchange visit to Brittany
As a key part of the project, 10 local dairy farmers participating in the project recently had the opportunity to undertake a 2-day exchange visit to Brittany in France. The exchange visit included visits to Brittany dairy farms, dinner with local farmers and advisers and a visit to the Derval Experimental farm north of Nantes.
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