The next gen challenges
Credit: SChrist
I’ve been travelling again. This week, it was to Bella Italia, where The European Dairy Association held its annual conference in Rome. The issue of the next generation for the dairy industry was top of the agenda, along with the pressures on livestock agriculture. The conundrum of who is going to farm livestock and provide processors with milk, is always going to be top of mind in the EU, a region of ageing populations and increasing misinformation about livestock agriculture. While this older segment provides some opportunities in retail areas such as nutrition and increased income to spend on added value products, it also means that farming can be impacted by younger workers staying away for various reasons.
The UK knows about this. The new government has just implemented an inheritance tax on land over £1 million, and unfortunately a lot of agricultural land costs more than that. Will it drive the younger generations from livestock farming? It is probably another unintended consequence, and we shall have to see how that plays out.
Meanwhile, in the EU, they are wrestling with labelling laws, mandates for decreased carbon emissions, and the issue of making farming pay sufficiently so that younger people see it as an option for a career. As Herbert Dorfmann of the European Parliament pointed out, “If we are not competitive or interesting, nobody is going to work with us. We need to guarantee that young people have the same income as their friends, who work in different sectors. We need to guarantee that the money is going to people who work in sustainable agriculture,” for the right results and continued provision of food for the region and abroad.
So, the challenges remain in dairy. Emmanuel Besnier, CEO of Groupe Lactalis, reminded the audience, “We need to have coherence when we talk about income, and it is a fragile balance inside the supply chain. We need a political solution that is good for everyone, with the interests of the agricultural sector preserved.” Indeed we do.
- Suzanne Christiansen, editor, Dairy Industries International.
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