The dairy industry newsletter reports that the lowest prices were paid in the northern part of the country, where Rucker paid only 23c/l, Breitenburger Milchzentrale 24c/l and both Meierei Holtsee and Molkerei Ammerland 25c/l.
In the south, Milchwerke Berchtesgadener Land, who for months has been paying over 36c, dropped to 33.36c. Allgäu Milch Käse paid 26.52c in January, Goldsteig 26.96c and Omira and BMI 27.06c.
Lidl has written to German dairy companies laying out basic standards for milk production, which are to be adopted with new supply contracts in the spring.
Criteria
The supermarket said farmers must adhere to animal welfare standards and they were quick to distance themselves from “suppliers that do not follow these basic requirements.”
Media reports suggest that the Lidl criteria requires factories to ensure milk producers avoid the preventative use of antibiotics and that they can only be prescribed by a vet and never used as a precautionary measure.
The basic feed is to be optimised to reduce or completely avoid importing certain ingredients.
Factories are to also ensure that the hooves of dairy cows are regularly maintained and professional checks are performed. They must ensure that precautions against the transfer of pests and animal diseases are taken and that the cattle are treated humanely while overcrowding is permanently avoided.
These standards for milk production are to be adopted with the new supply contracts in the spring.
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