The National Federation of Milk Producers sounds the alarm at the Livestock Summit
At a press conference yesterday morning at the Summit, regional and national leaders of the National Federation of Milk Producers (FNPL) have delivered a damning assessment of the situation of dairy farmers in the face of drought and rising production costs.
"What prospects are there for young farmers with prices so low?"
Cyril Godefroy set up in Haute-Loire in dairy production with several partners. “If I had to set up today with the milk price currently in effect, it’s clear that it wouldn’t work,” says the young farmer, who, like his colleagues, is wondering how he is going to make it through the whole winter feeding his cows. With no precipitation in sight, the drought is intensifying, and the prospects for regrowth of theforages seem to be moving farther away each day.
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"Livestock farmers are the great forgotten ones in the CASI plan"
And for the moment, there is no question of relying on support from the public authorities: “The people who have lost out most under the CASI planare livestock farmers. The index-based system indicatesforage losses between 30 and 40 % when, in reality, they fluctuate between 50 and 60 %. We therefore call for field assessments and compensation in line with the actual losses. If the minister comes to the Summit on Thursday, she will have to give us assurances,” explains Yohann Barbe, president of the FNPL.
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The cost price of cow's milk at 482 euros per 1 000 liters
As for the availability of forage, professionals believe that producers’ purchasing power must first be guaranteed. “And for that, we need a good price! The production cost is 482 euros per 1 000 litres of milk, so we are still a long way off. Processors absolutely must understand that without a price paid at the level of the production cost, it is the viability of dairy farming that they are putting at risk,” insists Stéphane Joandel, president of the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes regional dairy section and secretary general of the FNPL.
“Agriculture is burning, while the satellite looks elsewhere”
FNSEA and JA, armed with banners, denounced the insurance system at the stands of several insurers present at the Sommet de l’Élevage as well as at the stand of the Ministry of Agriculture. After a scorching summer, tempers are running high. Farms are “suffering greatly,” as are the animals that have endured the temperatures “despite all the efforts of the farmers.” The 1,5 billion euros announced by the government to cope with this historic drought are “not sufficient,” recalled Jean-Luc Perrin, secretary general of the FRSEA Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes.
Annie Genevard is expected to come on Thursday, 8 October, to the Sommet de l'élevage
Breeders have been denouncing for several weeks now, a Prairie Index and satellite observations, which they consider completely disconnected from conditions on the ground. The index has not been revised since 2016, and “no satellite-to-ground correlation has been verified since 2019,” said Patrick Bénézit, president of the FNB. “We were promised adjustments. We’re still waiting for them,” fumes David Chauve, president of the FRSEA Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes. The profession now expects “a clear position and a little courage” fromAnnie Genevard, whose visit planned for yesterday at Sommet de l'élevage could be postponed until Thursday.
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