We decided to start processing our own milk when the abolition of milk quotas was announced in 2009 as we expected production to rise and prices to fall. In France, what happened was that we had to sign contracts with processors who are now the ones imposing quotas. They buy milk outside France or even Europe, which allows them to keep our prices low.

On our farm, production costs including the remuneration of the five farmers in the partnership and seven staff come to 39c/l. We keep our cows indoors and grow our own feed on 270ha of our farm. Our 2016 base price was 29c/l at 4.3% fat and 3.3% protein, and our effective farmgate price was 32c/l.We are contracted to sell 1.5m litres to Lactalis, and the 10c/l price shortfall leaves us with a €150,000 loss each year. We now turn 250,000l into yoghurt and cheese on the farm, generating €450,000 in annual sales. Processing some of the milk ourselves allows us more or less to break even.

Wheat yields and prices were very poor last year and that crop returned a loss. We also produce seeds, which had better yields, although prices were poor for maize seed.

All of these crops are forecast to be sown over smaller areas this year, with prices still low. We grow 15ha of strawberry plants and this is the only steady crop for us. With a boost from specialist crops and farm payments, we covered all our costs including capital costs, salaries and remuneration for the five partners in 2016.

With the next CAP on the horizon, I think the EU should hire advisers who know the reality of farm work and don’t see agriculture solely as a free market to source cheap food. While quality is always put to the fore, it is returning ever lower prices. Our processors have merged into virtual monopolies using imports to keep farmgate prices low, with end products acquiring the nationality of the last country where they are processed. I would like to see food products labelled with the country of origins where the raw materials were sourced and processed along the chain. This would allow consumers to buy transparently.