Milk from happy cows
The day couldn’t be better for launching a new milk. At the Quina do Monte Inglês farm on São Miguel island in the volcanic archipelago of the Azores, local dignitaries and the press gathered to hear Ana Cláudia, general manager, Bel Portugal, discuss the French company’s plans for this very local milk, along with several other speakers. The cows outside chewed their 20 cm grass and looked generally pleased with themselves, except when visitors came to take photos – they then came over to see what was happening.
“We are starting a new era in the milk sector and dairy in Portugal,” Claudia says. “The cows here produce the best milk in the world and today we will let you know about this wonderful milk.”
However, it was all not good news from her. “World dairy production is not at a good stage is going through a difficult phase. In the EU, the end of the milk quota has seen a surplus of milk on various continents. It is the case around the world and in Europe in particular. Milk and dairy products have been in a deflationary cycle since 2014, and prices have been down since 2015. The current deflationary cycle is the longest cycle we’ve had historically. The average cost of a litre of milk in Portugal has dropped from €0.60 to €0.50, and farmgate prices have seen huge deflation, from €0.35 to €0.27-€0.28 today. This puts farmers on the threshold of sustainability. That is why it is of paramount importance to add value.”
So Bel Portugal started asking questions, she notes. “We asked ourselves, where can we start creating value?”
Status now
In Portugal, around 80 per cent of the market is low-value, conventional milk, with low prices, she notes. “For enriched milk, the market is so different and there is a great opportunity. Consumers are tending towards organic on a European level. It’s not just a plan, it’s reality. Consumers are worried about health and pay attention to protein levels in foods, which is an essential nutrient for growth,” she states.
Additionally, consumers are looking for other things, such as flavour, attention to animal welfare, and organic with no additives. “So the question is, is there an opportunity for these trends? These are not the low priced products, they are value added products,” she says.
Further questions included, “What do we really want from our future? For our dairy farms, for our children, our industry?”
The solution
The Terra Nostra brand is over 60 years old. “It is a real ambassador for the Azores,” she says. “Around 46 per cent of Portuguese households buy Terra Nostra and it is well known.” Using the brand, the company started a programme two years ago to research improvements. “We studied best milking practices worldwide,” Claudia notes. “It was very demanding and very difficult to implement, with all that it entails – sustainability and fair return for producers.” However, Bel Portugal had a significant upside, she says. “We have fresh pasture, volcanic land, and these are great conditions for high quality. We can produce milk in a very sustainable way all year round and that’s why our milk is the best.”
New green logo
The packaging has also changed, with the evolution of the brand’s identity – the logo is now 100 per cent green “like our milk,” she notes. This will be applied across the Terra Nostra brand, which includes cheese and butter along with the new UHT milk. “The milk is more expensive than our usual milk, but it is a fair price and accessible to all. It is the biggest investment for us ever in any brand (€7 million approximately), and we’ve been working day and night. We all have a great deal of passion for this project. The key message is, the first free gazing milk has arrived and we want to raise awareness of this.”
The company is supporting the new milk with television, digital channels, and a musical, which is called musical des vacas felizes (musical of the happy cows). The firm also invited retailers from the mainland to visit dairy farmers to understand where the milk comes from, and the milk has been now been listed in all Portugal’s retailers.
The one-litre Tetra Pak package comes in whole and semi-skimmed versions. Bel is currently running about 6,500 litres per day, but the line can produce up to 10,000 litres per day.
Azores
Jorge Rita, president of the Federacao Agricola Azores, spoke about the need to look at quality. “The Azores Terra Nostra brand is associated with green land. Many people say there is a big crisis in the dairy sector and there are negative opinions. We keep investing in this sector in this region, and government support is an obligation. It represents jobs and retains the population of the islands. What we want is to attract people to the rural environment with value added products. I believe these are the right projects for the future, with returns for all the sector. I love the happy cows and I am passionate about what we have: the best milk in the world!”
Eduardo Vasconcelos, is in charge of implementing the happy cow progamme at Bel Portugal.
He notes, “This product emphasises the Azores. It is very well known on the current landscape and is very important to the island of São Miguel. Bel Portugal collects 35 per cent of its milk volume from this island. We developed tools to better manage all aspects of farming, from energy efficiency, to grazing, and all producers are subject to audits for good practices.”
The company is also investing in the archipelago’s future, he says. “We plan more certified products to nurture pasture grazing. We are also introducing three annual scholarships for children of farmers, to invest in the future of farming on the islands.”
Results are already showing. The firm has won an award from Compassion in World Farming, a UK-based NGO, which it will collect in June in Berlin.
Fernando Moniz Sousa, regional manager of Agricultura dos Azores, is also confident about the island’s future, even though “We have no crystal ball about the economy. We need to make a balance between the economy, environment and the social component. The dairy sector is the biggest in our economy on the islands – 2,700 farmers, 84,000 cows,” he notes. “Our farmers enjoy challenges and are quite efficient in managing farms. There are many opportunities but if we are not ready, they will all escape.”
Helena Real, president of the Portugal Association of Nutritionists, says that in the diet, “It is very important to include dairy products, and the diet should be enhanced with dairy products. Milk is an extraordinary source of protein, which is fundamental to body health. It also includes lipids, vitamins and minerals, including iodine. There are not that many foods with that mineral for children. Milk is affordable and easy to transport and to consume.”
However, she notes there are problems with getting the message across. “Information is not passed onto consumers in the right way, and it’s important that they know that milk improves nutrition at every stage of the life cycle. It should reach professionals, nurses and other health care professionals. It has to be communicated.”
Professor Jose Antonio Teixeira of the University of Minho, points out the very composition of grass-fed animals is different to other cows. “Studies have shown that grazing milk is higher in polyunsaturated fatty acids in composition than other milks. The animal’s diet is critical to the output, and access to green grass is reflected in product quality. The presence of omega-3, omega-6 and CLP fatty acids in the milk is more favourable versus conventional milk. In Ireland New Zealand, the grass fed cows have a nutrient composition identical to Azores milk. Happy cows clearly produce better milk.”
Helene Simonin-Rosenheimer, director of food, environment and health, European Dairy Association, pointed out that other multinational companies are moving towards certifying farmers for sustainability and environmental footprinting. “It is very important the whole supply chain stays together – consumers look for the whole product,” she states.
Luis Vieira, state secretary of food and agriculture reminded the audience of what the industry faces. “The Portugese dairy has gone from 80,000 producers down to 5,700 at the moment. Attrition has gone through the milk sector, and this is repeated all over the EU. We have to find the best solution in response to challenges such as the Russian embargo, the slowdown of Chinese imports. We are confronted with significant production without an immediate place for it in the market, and the is a requirement that Europe should find the solution. The milk sector is one that has to be kept alive, optimistic and very determined.”
Last but not least, Vasco Cordeiro, president of the regional government of the Azores spoke about how important the dairy industry is to the local economy. “These are difficult times, and it is very good that bel Portugal is investing in Azorean milk. If we work together, it is the only way to overcome difficulties. We are Azoreans and we are very privileged living in the land we live in. What we are doing here can’t stay in the Azores, it should reach Europe and Brussels to demonstrate that it’s not because of dairy farmers, so Europe can be more attentive to the dairy sector. We, on our side, are doing our best.”
