The eyes of the farming world are on the Netherlands this week as protests strike a chord with many fearing food prices will rise further. Dairy farming is the big player in the Netherlands alongside horticulture.

Milk supply figures for the Netherlands shows growth of 1.5% for the first time in a long time for June 2022 compared to June 2021. Up to this there was a decline in milk produced. The increase is clearly as a result of much higher milk prices. The last time milk production showed growth was in November 2020.

Milk prices in the Netherlands are at record highs and base price is almost 56 c/l. The trend for July is still upward. What has reinforced the June supply increase is the fact that feed prices have levelled off.

At FrieslandCampina, no fewer than 284 members have left for another processor in the past 12 months. This is considerably more than in recent years and also a record number.

For years FrieslandCampina had a surplus of milk, but is now looking for new suppliers, just like many other Dutch dairy companies. It is ironic that Irish processors are largely capped while the Dutch processors search for milk.

German supply

In Germany, the latest milk supply figures are for May and they too have lagged behind previous years. However, the contraction in May was slightly smaller than in April. Figures from the German Statistical Office also show the number of dairy cattle in the country has taken another step back. It means milk volume is 1.7%, below last year. In April there was a 2.7% gap year on year.