Young dairy farmers in Friesland are objecting to FrieslandCampina’s plans to change how they are compensated for production.
Updated at 10:04 a.m. on Wednesday, 16 May
The Leeuwarder Courant reports that, starting 1 January, FrieslandCampina plans to pay farmers who exceed their agreed upon production levels 30 percent less per liter. FrieslandCampina’s spokesperson Willem ter Avest says that the plans should prevent overproduction.
But Ronald Beulink, a dairy farmer from Zelhem, says that the plan effectively leaves farmers in a bind. He points out that farmers who have added new stalls are getting a raw deal. “Any farmers who have invested in expanding their operations should go ahead and close their doors.”
Omrop Fryslân reports that a meeting between young farmers from the municipality of Zuidwest-Friesland and representatives from FrieslandCampina on Tuesday night was productive. The dairy farmers will travel to Amersfoort on Wednesday continue the talks. FrieslandCampina will decide on whether to implement the proposed plan on 16 June.
A previous European-level quota, which was introduced in response to the infamous dumping of excess milk and butter in the 1980s, was scrapped in April 2015. Dairy farmers were permitted to produce a certain amount of milk based on their previous production levels. If they exceeded that limit, they had to pay a surplus levy.
Photo source: Bertknot/Flickr
