'Don't complain to your wife about the low milk price'

Arnold van Dorp is chairman of Holland Dairy Producers, an association that stands up for suppliers of Vreugdenhil. He is concerned about the future, but also sees opportunities for Dutch milk on the world market. "The processor has traditionally been the most important party for a dairy farm, but is less and less a partner. That has to change."

Van Dorp, himself a dairy farmer in Hazerswoude in South Holland, therefore calls on fellow suppliers to become members as well. "You should not discuss your dissatisfaction with the milk price with your wife or neighbour, because what can they do about it?"

whence this initiative?
"I have been worried about the future of my dairy farm for a long time. The increasing costs, often resulting from legislation and regulations, have made it almost impossible to realize a serious income in recent years. And continuing to tinker with the cost is a finite model. Running a dairy farm is serious business and should not be a hobby. I do not have this concern alone, but it is widely shared. During the farmers' protests last year, I met fellow suppliers of Vreugdenhil and then the first contacts were made. Ultimately, that resulted recently in the founding of Holland Dairy Producers."

What are your specific priorities for Vreugdenhil?
"We want to be a serious discussion partner for the management in a constructive way. Despite various sounding board groups, we instinctively stand on the sidelines. One of the annoyances is transparency. In 2020, much in the world is transparent, but we lack that attitude at Vreugdenhil. The structure of the milk price is not clear to us. Can Vreugdenhil no longer pay, or do they not want to? We cannot assess that now and that has to be done differently. Suppose the milk price cannot be higher, then I would rather know that today than tomorrow and can I, as an entrepreneur, draw my conclusions from this. I am not a dairy farmer for the hobby and want to be able to earn money."

Can Vreugdenhil no longer earn money, after all, they are a private processor?
"Of course Vreugdenhil can earn money, that is even necessary to keep a dot on the horizon. At the same time, we dairy farmers also have to earn money. We would therefore like to have a say in the distribution of margins. We are not naive and understand that Vreugdenhil cannot always throw a 6 in the market. But even if they roll a 2, that loss may not be passed on to the suppliers. We want to make agreements about that. I know from Danone that they are working on a cost price + formula. Something like this could be possible. We also want more appreciation of the data that each individual supplier is now giving away for nothing."

How do you mean?
"Through the Kringloopwijzer, Vreugdenhil knows almost everything about us, but we hardly know about them. There is a need for data in a chain, but it should not be taken for granted that that data is supplied free of charge. After all, data represents value, there must be a additional cost. And if that already happens, show this in the milk money settlement. Incidentally, this point does not only apply to Vreugdenhil, but also to other processors. As Holland Dairy Producers, we therefore also work with other supplier associations. have said that they are proud of us, act accordingly by considering us as full partners and suppliers. Also of data. Speaking of data, in my opinion there are real opportunities for Dutch milk on the world market. in a negative spiral, but there are plenty of opportunities if you look at our low CO2 footprint. We just need to communicate it better."

Despite your constructive attitude, Vreugdenhil reacted reluctantly to the establishment of Holland Dairy Producers. Do you understand?
"I understand that it is a test for them, but I am firmly convinced that we must take these steps. The dairy and the bank have traditionally been the most important parties, but are becoming less and less of a partner for us. Contact with CEO Albert de Groot van Vreugdenhil is also good. And in terms of requirements, Vreugdenhil is an excellent customer. I would like to emphasize once again that we are a constructive party. We need each other, in good and bad times. However, the availability of milk can take a long time was not a problem in the Netherlands, there is and was enough for sale on the spot market. That is why we must unite as suppliers."

Holland Dairy Producers now has 6 board members and Vreugdenhil has approximately 900 suppliers. Why do other suppliers need to join?
"You should not discuss your dissatisfaction with the milk price with your wife or neighbour, because what can they do about it? You have to come to the right place for that, in this case Vreugdenhil. put our shoulders under it and hope that others will follow. In this coronat time it is difficult to reach people, so that is a challenge. Initially we wanted to organize evenings scattered in the Netherlands. The annual contribution is € 350 and then you have the right to vote. that is a lot? Not based on a cent of extra milk money. Our future benefits from it."

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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