Top milk flow as bait in the battle for the farmer

The premium level for top milk flows between Dutch milk processors is somewhat reminiscent of a 'peeing contest'. While one processor boasts a sustainability surcharge of, for example, €6 per 100 kilos on the bare milk price, another processor matches that. The competition started in 2018 when FrieslandCampina introduced PlanetProof dairy with much fanfare. In the same year, A-ware came up with the Beter Voor concept, at that time still exclusive to Albert Heijn. Before that, Cono Kaasmakers already had a distinctive sustainability program with Caring Dairy.

Milk flows come in all shapes and sizes. In addition to the so-called top milk flows - which sometimes almost border on organic - there are concepts at a lower entry level. There are also milk flows that focus on a specific sales market. A-ware does this with Koe-bewust, for example, especially for the German market. DOC Kaas has something similar together with parent company DMK; from 1 January 2025 they will introduce a new milk flow that meets the requirements of the German Haltungsform-Stufe 3. 

DOC Cheese and Arla 
In the top milk flows, a lot has been renewed and changed this year, or announced as a change for 2025. For example, DOC Cheese introduced the Tuurlijk program earlier this year, which entitles the holder to a premium of €5 per 100 kilos. In the meantime, a third of DOC members supply according to this standard. Arla announced in mid-November that they are embracing the Better for Nature & Farmer quality mark in the Netherlands. A-ware, which also works with the Better For quality mark, recently announced that it will increase the premium by €1 from next year. to increase to €6 per 100 kilos. There are stricter requirements in the area of ​​nature and animal welfare. If this increase is approved by the quality mark (which seems a formality), this will also apply to Arla. In addition to existing members joining, Arla hopes that the top milk flow will also attract new members. The pool of Dutch members is still small. A-ware also wants to grow further with additional farmers in the Beter Voor program.   

Cono increases premium
Cono will increase the sustainability premium by €2025 to a maximum of €1,50 per 6 kilos from 100. The Caring Dairy program will be revised in terms of content next year. It is striking that the sustainability thresholds will be lowered, so that dairy farmers can get involved more easily. In practice, not every Cono member will receive the maximum bonus. There are scales with increasing rewards for grazing, lifespan and other indicators. The more hours of grazing, the higher the bonus and the older the cows, the higher the bonus. And so on. 

Higher requirements in PlanetProof, premium equal 
FrieslandCampina and Farmel also work with PlanetProof. The approximately 800 dairy farmers who participate in the Planet Proof certification scheme must meet a series of stricter requirements by 2025. These include more lying comfort for the cows, a longer lifespan, less ammonia emissions and more protein from their own land. The premium of €5 per 100 kilos will remain intact next year. This is a setback for participants who do see the premiums in other top milk flows increase.  

Vreugdenhil is now also participating
Vreugdenhil and Nestlé recently announced that they want to scale up considerably with Tomorrow's Dairy. This CO2 reduction program now has 80 participants. The goal is to double in 2025 and eventually grow to more than two hundred dairy farmers. A maximum of €5 per 100 kilos of milk can be received, which Nestlé claims will be fully reimbursed. Including existing allowances, a dairy farmer can earn a maximum of €7,10 per 100 kilos. It took a while before the case was calculated, but Vreugdenhil has nothing to be ashamed of with this premium. Dairy farmers who want to qualify for this will have to open their wallets to purchase, for example, the rather expensive feed additive Bovaer.

€12 on top of Guaranteed Price
Then there is also newcomer Ikwileerlijkezuivel.nl, which has shaken up the market with unusually high premiums. With a surcharge of no less than €12 per 100 kilos on the guaranteed price of FrieslandCampina, they outperform everyone else. Anyone who wants to qualify for this will have to extensify considerably. In addition, it is only possible to join if you farm around Natura 2000 areas in Overijssel or Gelderland. The initiative also has to prove itself, which means that many dairy farmers will probably wait and see. For the time being, eight dairy farmers have registered and according to them, about two hundred are latently interested. 

At De Graafstroom (DeltaMilk) and CZ Rouwveen, among others, dairy farmers can also earn attractive sustainability bonuses. However, these processors are less transparent about the bonuses on milk flows they work with.