Perseverance amid regulation

MADISON, Wis. — Dairy farming in Europe shares similarities to dairy farming in the U.S., however, farmers in Europe experience additional government regulation.

Three dairy farmers from Ireland, France and the Netherlands shared information about their farms while discussing challenges regarding environmental regulations and other policies during a panel entitled, “Global Dairying” March 12 at the Professional Dairy Producers Conference in Madison.

David Hyland dairy farms in the midlands of Ireland with his brother, Paul, at P&D Hyland Farms. The siblings inherited the farm from their father, who started milking cows in the 1970s.

“We began expanding when we came home to farm to make room for the two of us,” Hyland said. “After 2015, when quotas were abolished in Europe, we expanded more, renting more land around us and buying land from neighboring farms.”

Today, Hyland and his brother milk 1,150 cows and farm 1,740 acres. Cows are milked in five parlors, ranging from 145-360 cows per parlor. Hyland said cows and youngstock graze for 10 months of the year in a temperate climate noted for plentiful rain.

The dairy follows a grass-based spring calving system with cows calving in a 12-week window from February to April. The farm’s stocking rate is 2.18 cows per hectare.

“This rate is important because we have a nitrate regulation in Europe and have to keep it under 220 kilograms of nitrates per cow,” Hyland said. “Ours is 207 kilograms per cow.”

The Hylands incorporated white clover to reduce dependence on chemical nitrogen. Hyland said they do not spread much phosphorus because they do not have much allowance for it.

Their cows are 70% Holstein and 30% Friesian. The Hylands strive to breed a low-maintenance cow with a high feed conversion efficiency.

“We have a high percentage of butterfat and protein at 3.75% protein and 4.65% fat, which gives us 7-8 cents above the average milk price,” Hyland said.

Their milk is shipped to Tirlán, a farmer-owned cooperative. Hyland said it is the largest milk processor in Ireland, making primarily butter, milk, cheese and powder. Having an open market to Europe, 85%-90% of milk products are exported as powder, cheese and butter.

“We get a good milk price,” Hyland said. “There are lots of opportunities for expanding going forward if we wanted to. There is no regulation that we can’t expand.”

Thibaut Cordel and his family farm in France, on the border of Germany, Belgium and Luxembourg. The farm is owned by seven partners, including Cordel’s parents and some neighbors who joined the business in the last 20 years. The farm’s 280 Holsteins are milked by three robotic milking units and a parlor.

“We are expanding, but to keep our investment low, we choose not to go fully automatic yet,” Cordel said.

Cows average 90 pounds of milk per day, and milk is shipped to Hochwald — a German co-op.

The farm employs six people and two part-time trainees.

“We have to compete with labor traveling to Luxembourg, where they get paid twice as much,” Cordel said. “That’s one of the reasons we’ve gone to automation. It is more labor efficient, and there are less people working on the farm per cow.”

The farm also raises 90 Limousin beef cows and is connected with a biogas plant, allowing them to produce electricity for the farm and sell the remainder. The Cordels also operate a shop located a half-hour from the farm where they sell beef, milk and veal.

Cordel and his family farm 1,260 hectares. When it comes to environmental regulation, Cordel said some rules apply to all of Europe and some are applied differently to each country. For example, in France, 5 meters must remain untouched on each side of a body of water, whereas in Germany, the requirement is 3 meters. From October-January, Cordel said it is almost impossible to spread slurry or manure on crops.

French farmers are facing pressure from processors as well. This has resulted in LACTALIS refusing to collect milk from 150 dairy producers by the end of 2025. Cordel said he believes France will lose about 30% of its cows in the next 10 years.

“The baby boom is retiring,” he said. “Dairy farming has not been profitable, so it’s not attractive to the next generation.”

Fewer cows and fewer farmers are causing a concentration of milk plants.

“We need to concentrate, but society doesn’t want that,” Cordel said. “They say, ‘No big farms in my backyard.’ In France, that means 150 cows. It’s quite the challenge. France will be a net importer of milk in 2027. We used to be a major exporter of milk in Europe.”

Despite these challenges, Cordel and his family plan to build a new barn. Growing their farm and making more milk is the goal, he said.

“There is a new generation coming, and we want to increase automation and make better welfare for the cows, create more opportunities for our team, and provide better conditions to attract labor,” Cordel said.

Anton Stokman farms in the Netherlands, where he milks 280 cows. He has used a robotic milking system for 30 years. The farm’s digester turns biogas into natural gas that Stokman sells. It supplies power to 3,000 homes.

“It gives us green energy, and the people like it,” he said.

Stokman grows six crops per year with help from an automated silo covering system.

“We lose very little forage, and the quality is very good and the same every day of the year,” Stokman said.

The latest technology implemented on their farm is the Lely Exos — a robot that cuts, transports, distributes and fertilizes grass.

“It’s very gentle with it, and gives us fresh, short grass,” Stokman said.

Stokman said their country has about the same milk production as Wisconsin on approximately 20% of the land Wisconsin uses.

“Now we have even less (land) because we are told we cannot farm in certain areas due to nitrogen laws (in the Netherlands),” Stokman said.

The Netherlands imposes strict nitrogen emission policies, and permits for activities that might have a slight emission of nitrogen are forbidden.

“We cannot emit any extra nitrogen,” he said.

Government-mandated herd reductions and increased sustainability requirements also confront the Netherlands’ dairy farmers. Strict goals on water quality, biodiversity and natural animal behavior also exist. Economic pressures include rising production costs. For example, phosphate rights cost 3,000 euros per cow.

“If you’re above 1.5 cows per hectare, you have to dispose of excess manure, costing you 1,000 euros per cow per year,” Stokman said.

Land in the Netherlands costs 70,000-140,000 euros per hectare. The cost of labor is also high. Stokman employs his son and two full-time people at a rate of 35 euros per hour, which equals about $39 an hour.

Nonetheless, there are opportunities for Dutch farmers. A push for carbon neutrality from retailers would be one such opportunity, as Stokman gets paid extra for producing low-carbon milk and achieving biodiversity.

“Most of the people here are very rich,” Stokman said. “They have the money to pay for (their food); now the challenge for us is to make them pay for it. In that way, there is a future for farmers.”