Local milk processing for Saxony farmers

A new dairy is starting from scratch in Saxony, eastern Germany with the aim of offering local farmers a regional outlet for their milk completely independent of any of the big players. The company Kohrener Landmolkerei aims for a start to a state-of-the-art processing plant for products such as drinking milk, dairy mix drinks and yogurts in the town of Penig before Christmas. Kohrener dairy chairman Sirko Hornung says plant equipment will begin arriving at Easter 2013 and the whole dairy should be up and running by November of that year. The concept is supported by the local agricultural supply and marketing company, Osterland Agrar, of which Hornung is also managing director. Products are to be sold under the already patented brand name “Frieda Landmilch” which comes with a sub-title translating as “with love fresh from the land”.

A major aim of the development is independence from Germany’s large dairies, emphasises Sirko Hornung.  The biggest capacity processing plant in the country is already present in Saxony, at Leppersdorf near Dresden run by Sachsenmilch (Müller Group) with an annual capacity of 1.4 billion kg.

Even with probably a year to go before first milk is delivered to the planned dairy, talks are already underway with distributors and supermarkets throughout Saxony. The aim, according to Hornung, is to keep the supply network local and develop a good regional reputation as producer of premium dairy products.