Beat the drum louder for the importance of the dairy sector

With a new chairman and new director, the Dutch Dairy Organization (NZO) is well equipped to tackle the major challenges they face. It is of course undeniable that the challenges in times of the ongoing nitrogen debate are great. One of the aspects that the trade association advocates is maintaining sufficient scale. The NZO emphatically wants to stay away from figures and figures taken from the air. "The discussion must be based on facts."

Albert de Groot, CEO of Vreugdenhil Dairy Foods, has held the gavel since July. This position is not completely new for him, because he was already acting chairman after the departure of Hein Schumacher from FrieslandCampina. As the largest processor within the NZO, the dairy cooperative from Amersfoort is allowed to appoint a chairman and ended up with De Groot. With almost thirty years of experience at Vreugdenhil, he knows the ins and outs of the dairy industry. The daily management of the interest group has recently been taken over by Joep Rats. He came over from Bouwend Nederland and from that role is very familiar with the ins and outs of politics in The Hague.

Not too cramped
The duo believes that the NZO should be more visible. The importance of dairy must be emphasized more strongly in times when the sector is sometimes under fire. In a conversation with the two, it quickly turns to the challenges in the environment. Nevertheless, De Groot first of all advocates against shooting into a tense position. "98% of Dutch people consume dairy. 1% do not like it and 1% do not consume dairy for personal reasons." He does not close his ears to criticism, but he believes the sector does not have to be ashamed: "Dairy is a magical product in my eyes. A healthy and balanced diet is almost impossible without it."

When De Groot talks about dairy, he is referring to products made from cow's milk. Otherwise you talk about dairy alternatives, but as far as he is concerned they should not be associated with milk. He understands that many dairy companies are focusing on the plant-based market and that is not new. "We also did this decades ago with coffee creamers, for example."

Fertilizer and soy imports
After a few months at the NZO, Rats was impressed by the professionalism of the members. But the dairy sector cannot rest on its laurels, he is well aware. By this he means, among other things, reducing the CO2 footprint and safeguarding animal welfare. Although the NZO is closely associated with dairy farming, its focus is primarily on the processing dairy industry. "We do not take a position on the use of artificial fertilizer or South American soy in animal feed. That is primarily a matter for those representing the interests of dairy farming," says Rats. Rats and De Groot do argue for one level playing field in Europe in terms of legal requirements on the farm. This is to be able to compete fairly on cost price. In addition, there must be room for private initiatives such as PlanetProof or the 'Better for' programs in fresh food chains. "There is no longer a milk processor without its own sustainability program and that is a good thing," says De Groot.

Maintaining scale
Something that the NZO is strongly committed to is maintaining sufficient scale. Members are increasingly realizing that the current size of the production apparatus is no longer self-evident, given that animal numbers are under pressure. Dutch processors are increasingly focusing on the supply of milk from Belgium or Germany. Although the NZO advocates sufficient scale, they want to avoid a minimum size. Partly because such figures quickly have a polarizing effect. It bothers Rats that NGOs often randomly throw out figures that are not based on facts. "That doesn't move the discussion forward." Although the NZO does not want to express any desired size, De Groot believes that the dairy sector should be able to continue to export in the future. "We do not export bulk, but high-quality dairy products that are produced in our country with relatively little environmental impact. He picks up his iPhone and then says: "It doesn't bother anyone that this device is produced in China, does it?"

Determining elections
In the coming months, the Netherlands will undoubtedly be dominated by a fierce and compelling election campaign. These also determine the direction the nitrogen dossier takes. And with it the future of dairy farming and the dairy sector. The NZO recently wrote a paper with recommendations for political parties. In addition to the economic export importance of €10 billion, this also highlights the landscape importance and nutritional value of dairy. The November elections will probably be more decisive than ever when it comes to animal numbers. De Groot is already looking ahead: "It will make quite a difference whether the Netherlands will soon be governed by the right or the left."

Wouter Job

Wouter Baan is Head of Meat & Dairy at BoerenbusinessAt DCA Market Intelligence, he focuses on dairy, pork, and meat markets. He also monitors (business) developments within agribusiness and interviews CEOs and policymakers.

w.baan@boerenbusiness. Nl

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