Dairy farms bigger in the future

Nearly 7 out of 10 Belgian dairy farms will not only become larger in the future, but also more sustainable. This is the conclusion of a study by the Department of Agricultural Economics into the insights and needs of 2.800 milk suppliers of Milcobel.

The Belgian dairy farmers mainly mention business expansion, the more efficient use of the infrastructure and increasing the productivity of the dairy cattle as the main goals. On the other hand, they do indicate that these growth ambitions are considerably tempered by the limiting environmental factors, such as the availability of land, labor and environmental restrictions. 

Growth important for dairy farmer
The research shows that dairy farmers, who expect to be active after 2022, believe that the available (and not yet used) stables should be filled with more cows. According to them, the infrastructure should be used more usefully and better.

They also expect their milk deliveries to increase significantly, from 573.000 liters in 2017 to 800.000 liters in 2022. This increase in milk production will be made possible by three options.

1. Filling the empty cowsheds. That is according to 36,8 percent of the respondents. 
2. Expansion of the cowsheds. That is what 22,8 percent of Milcobel's milk suppliers say. 
3. Increasing milk production per cow. That is according to 10,8 percent of the respondents. 

Limiting factors constitute limitation
In addition, the dairy farmers indicate that they are faced with various limiting factors. More than 40 percent of the respondents indicate that they see the availability of land as the biggest limitation. In second place is the lack of work (32 percent). Finally, 31,2 percent of milk suppliers indicate that they see environmental restrictions, such as fertilizer disposal, as a major obstacle. 

However, they do indicate that the evolution towards fewer, but larger dairy farms that supply more milk is accompanied by a significant improvement in CO2 emissions. 

In the interpretation of limiting factors, the milk price turned out to be especially important. It is striking, however, that age, health and follow-up are not significant limiting factors within Milcobel's milk suppliers. 

Dirk Ryckaert, chairman of Milcobel: 'Milcobel wants to call for attention to be paid to this problem. If we want to maintain our dairy farming and support the growth of our companies, then political agricultural and environmental policy will also have to provide the necessary scope for sustainable development.'

Research from Milcobel
The study was commissioned by Milcobel, the largest Belgian dairy group. A total of 2.800 milk suppliers were surveyed and 2.017 members provided complete answers. To keep the survey representative, a sample of 1.000 members was taken. 

Kimberly Baker

Kimberly Bakker is an all-round editor at Boerenbusiness. She also has an eye for the social media channels of Boerenbusiness.

k.baker @boerenbusiness. Nl

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