Bel Leerdammer demands a run at group stable

Bel Leerdammer wants cows to no longer be permanently tethered in a group barn by 2025. The dairy is currently in talks with suppliers who are concerned about this and are still milking. Dairy farmers are outraged by the announcement.

Theodoor Bos, the Milk Supply manager at Bel Leerdammer, says that the decision is a response to customer demand. According to Bos, all group stable farmers who are affiliated with Bel Leerdammer already use pasture grazing, but in winter the cows are permanently fixed. This will no longer be allowed from 2025. 

Many grupstal farmers are going to stop
"At the moment, about 80 of our suppliers still work with a tie-down shed. A large part of them have indicated that they want to stop working as dairy farmers before 2025. Bel Leerdammer is in talks with the other 20 dairy farmers. "Our intention is not to exclude the dairy farmers , but to look for suitable solutions together." According to Bos, a solution could be that group stable farmers give their cows free range for a number of hours a day from 2025. 

He points out that the group stable is also under discussion in the surrounding countries. In Germany however, a ban is not yet on the agenda, although processors do threaten discounts or stop the milk collection. Last year, on the initiative of the Sustainable Dairy Chain, a ban was imposed in the Netherlands on the new construction and expansion of group stables. This led to a lot of fuss among dairy farmers at the time. Bel Leerdammer is the first milk processor to come up with additional requirements. 

Negative decision for us  
"This decision has a negative effect on our company," reports dairy farmer Lammert van Dijk from Kampen, who also works with a group barn. "Our 65 cows are indeed attached to a chain, but the group barn also has advantages." Van Dijk refers to individual treatment. The group stable provides peace of mind, because there is no hierarchy. "In addition, our cows are grazing 24 hours a day in the summer months."

Van Dijk also claims that environmental emissions in a group barn are low, because the manure is separated. "We get a lot of visitors on our farm and I've never received a negative comment." Instead of banning group stables, Bel Leerdammer has a duty to make the advantages of group stables known to consumers. "At the moment, mainly the negative aspect is in the spotlight, but that is one-sided."

The dairy farmer is of the opinion that Bel Leerdammer Nederland dutifully follows what is imposed from France (by parent company Le Groupe Bel). He does not yet know how the dairy farmer will implement the requirement. "In any case, our stable is not suitable for converting it into a loose stable."

Van Dijk does not intend to leave Bel Leerdammer. "We have been at this milk factory for generations, you don't just break those ties." The dairy farmer already has a successor and he also wants to continue working with a group barn. "I intend to fight for the preservation of the group stable." To do this, he seeks contact with dairy farmers who are in the same boat. Van Dijk knows that there are approximately 1.100 dairy farmers in the Netherlands with a group barn. "Together we stand stronger."

'Milka cow is in group stable'
Hans Puttenstein, chairman of the Suppliers Association Leerdammer Collectief (LVLC), which was founded at the beginning of this year, says that the plan came from Bel Leerdammer. "We try to stand up for the dairy farmers involved." Puttenstein emphasizes that a group stable is by definition not wrong. "Dairy farmers with a group barn often score well in terms of technical results." The chairman also finds the sustainability aspects of a group stable underexposed.

According to Puttenstein, the Milka cow symbolizes the much-praised and small-scale dairy farming in Switzerland, but many dairy farmers there work with a tethered barn. "So it just depends from which angle you look at the discussion." The smear campaign against group stables does not come from the consumer, but from the NGOs. "Various parties would like to see the sector disappear as quickly as possible, so which type of barn is next next to the group barn?"

Wouter Job

Wouter Baan is editor-in-chief of Boerenbusiness. He also focuses on dairy, pig and meat markets. He also follows (business) developments within agribusiness and interviews CEOs and policymakers.

w.baan@boerenbusiness. Nl

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