In the midst of an agricultural crisis, some dairy producers have made a radical decision. They advocate a completely different economic model to guarantee a minimum income of 1,700 euros per month for each breeder. To this end, the producers founded an independent dairy. The goal: collect, process and distribute the milk themselves. This is the strategy of Fabrice Hégron, owner of the “Direct from the Breeders” dairy, a farm located in Remouillé, in the Loire-Atlantique.
Its objective is to free itself from intermediaries and invent another agricultural model. In 2016, he created an independent dairy investing €8.5 million to counter the current system.
This producer points out that this organization has had an impact on the dairy farms. In France, in 1999, there were 120,000 dairy farms.
An incompatible business model
Last year, Fabrice Hégron managed to sell just over 7 million liters of milk. On the other hand, the cheese factory does not wish to communicate the price paid to the farmers. Another economic model to get ahead…
A few kilometers away, Jérémy Maillard raises 135 dairy cows. On his farm, 5,500 liters of milk are produced every day. A feat possible thanks to the use of 3 robots. But Jérémy Maillard denounces an incompatible business model.
“Like all other companies, we have costs. All other companies do this cost evaluation and calculate the price at which they can sell the product. We are the opposite: we have a price for the consumer and then everyone takes their margin and “Then the rest is left up to the farmer. But that’s not logical, that’s not the way we should think about it.”
Last month, Jérémy Maillard spoke out to denounce Lactalis’ policy. He believes the group did not respect the Egalim law. A law that should offer farmers remuneration taking into account their production costs
Source: BFM TV
