GDNEWS  2-2016           Feb. 8, 2016
INTRO GDF MANAGEMENT
By: Bram Prins, GDF President 

Dear all,

It is our pleasure to introduce our new GDF Manager: Yvonne Leenders. Yvonne started working for GDF last week. She will spend her time on GDF Club and on GDF Research. For the research part she will work at the CAH Vilentum in Dronten.  Yvonne, welcome in the GDF family!

 
We also want to welcome our new business partner PROMAT from Canada. We are happy with this new partner and an interactive exchange of ideas has started already.
 

From February 14-19 we will meet each other at VIV-MEA in Abu Dhabi (EAR) There we will discuss the current situation in milk prices and especially in influencing farm gate prices with backwards integration. We are looking for new ways!!
It is very disappointing that we had to skip the Egypt part of the tour. We are very grateful for the professional attitude of our partner Juhayna in Egypt. We will stay in contact and are looking for new chances.

No one expected the huge dip in milk prices in 2015 and the continuation of it in 2016. This is related to lower purchasing power in different countries which are dependant of oil and gas prices. In my view, this is the biggest reason.
As dairy farmers we have to look for new ways in solving these problems by developing new, and cheaper ways of managing our farms and if possible to increase the milk prices.
We have to improve the image that the dairy sector has by influencing social media and via direct consumer contacts.

Did you know that an US study (University of California) from a few years ago shows that if every consumer takes a few portions of milk products, savings in health costs are growing from 26 billion dollar till 200 billion dollar after 5 years?!
Enjoy reading this GDNews.
STUDY TRIP GDF - VIV MEA - ABU DHABI FEB. 2016
Global Dairy Farmers cooperates with VIV MEA and will organize a dairy seminar with the theme Vertical Integration. We are happy to be present with a dairy booth and have found several key speakers on this topic already who will mainly focus on the strategic approach in the Middle-East and African countries. Also some best practices will be presented. The program for the dairy seminar is presented online. More :  VIV MEA and GFIA.

Our full program for the Study Trip is as following:
Sunday Feb. 14: Arrival
Monday Feb. 15: VIV MEA or Dairy Farm visits: Al Rawabi and Marmum Dairy (Dubai region)
Tuesday Feb. 16: VIV MEA Dairy Seminars (see program GDF Dairy Seminar below!)
Wednesday Feb. 17: VIV MEA or Cultural day: Desert Safari and Abu Dhabi tour
Thursday Feb. 18: Dairy Farm visits: Al Dahra and Al Ain Dairy (Al Ain region)
Friday Feb. 19: Departure

MARKET DEVELOPMENTS
MILK PRICE DEVELOPMENTS
By: Co Daatselaar
Compared to the end of 2015 milk prices have decreased somewhat in the first weeks of 2016. The last GDT reflected this situation with mainly negative effects. For the first time since 2008 intervention of SMP takes place within the European Union which can support prices. Most of the expected developments that keep pressure on the milk prices, are the same as in the previous months: 
- Stocks are relatively large on both the supply and the demand side. Buyers increase their stocks to use them if prices go up: however they carry out this increase at such a moderate pace that prices currently don't raise. Because of low demand suppliers also have to increase their stocks; 
- Chinese imports are still low and low oil prices decrease demand from the Middle East and Russia. 
- Russia has prolonged the ban on imports from the EU, the USA and some other countries for another year. But even without ban, the weakened purchasing power (because of the weak rouble) will keep Russian imports at lower levels than in the past. Some small shift can take place because of less export from Turkey to Russia; 
- The European Union faced a sharp fall in milk production at the end of 2014 and Q1 of 2015 because EU-dairy farmers shrank production to avoid penalties that could arise from exceeding their milk quota. Given the currently higher numbers of animals and the abolition of the milk quota, such a sharp fall in milk production in the EU will not take place in the coming months. Currently EU-production is 3-4% higher than one year ago. 
Read more
CHANGES GDF MANAGEMENT TEAM: 
WELCOME YVONNE LEENDERS AS GDF MANAGER!
As of February 1st Yvonne Leenders joined the GDF team as Manager  Global Dairy Farmers. She will replace Elise Bregman, who will leave the team with the start of her maternity leave per March 1. 
Also Jessica Rodenboog will finish her activities for the GDF team per March 1.

Yvonne  obtained her Master of Science in Business Adminstration at the Erasmus University. Straight after graduating she started working for an international grain trading company in Rotterdam. After two years at the finance department she moved tot the logistics departement as operations coordinator.  A couple of years later she decided she wanted to focus more on project management, sustainabilty and above all decided to move (back) to Groningen. Besides work she liked and still likes to organize small festivals on voluntary basis. She is very happy she joined the GDF team to grow and strengthen the GDF network.
WORLD: DAIRY PRICES MAY NOT LIFT UNTIL 2017
There may be no bounce back in international dairy prices until next year, according to Rabobank's dairy global strategist.
"We did say that prices should improve in the latter half of 2016, but as time goes on it becomes more difficult for us to see dairy prices react," Netherlands-based Kevin Bellamy told Agriland.ie.
Read full story       
Source: Ariland
FREE BUSINESS ANALYSISPROGRAM AVAILABLE FOR DAIRY PRODUCERS
 Alberta Agriculture and Forestry is once again offering the Dairy Cost 
 Study program to Alberta producers.
 "With changes in today's environment and economy, there
 seems to be renewed interest in building business plans, following
 cost of production and getting adequate returns for that production,"
 said Pauline Van Biert, a provincial research analyst. "The Dairy Cost
 Study is a business analysis program that provides economic analysis
 and farm business management information to dairy producers using their own numbers."  It is similar to the Agri-Profits program except that it provides a business analysis for just the dairying aspect of the farm.
Read full story       
Source: ALBERTAFARMEXPRESS
ARGENTINA, HOLLAND OFFER SUBSIDIES MANAGE MILK SUPPLY
At a time when global milk supplies are overflowing and free trade agreements are requiring countries to eliminate or scale back dairy subsidies, some co-ops and countries are implementing creative ways to provide extra money to their dairy producers to keep them competitive and thriving or to encourage them to cut back on production.
"While higher milk production benefits the dairy farm, unplanned and unmanaged growth can be quite challenging for a dairy cooperative. Cooperatives often find themselves in a precarious situation when lower milk prices drive higher production because they must buy all of their members' milk," says Sara Dorland, analyst with the Daily Dairy Report
and managing partner at Ceres Dairy Risk Management, Seattle. "At the same time, though, they tend to have difficulty processing and finding a good market for the milk in times of oversupply."
Source: DairyHerdManagement
FACING TPP DAIRY DELUGE, VIETNAM MILK FIRMS SHIFT STRATEGY SURVIVE
Dec 29 Vietnam's fast-growing dairy companies are investing big in new markets as they brace for stepped-up competition at home from global giants on the prowl to take advantage of a Pacific trade pact.
Domestic milk demand is soaring as household spending power increases in the country of 90 million people, boosting profits for dairy firms that are expanding quickly, but can meet only a third of the milk needs.
Full story       
Source: Reuters
MILK CHECKS DEPEND MORE ON BUTTER
From the time milk leaves the cows until the time it leaves the farm, dairy farmers see the milk they produce as a single liquid product. But they know that it's actually a complex package of components that is increasingly separated into ingredients. Those components produce a growing variety of food products sold in an ever-widening variety of markets at home and around the world.
Read article
Source: Hoard's Dairyman
BROOKSIDE DAIRY PLANS WEST AFRICA EXPANSION
Kenya's Brookside Dairy on Thursday announced plans to venture into the West African market to sell its products and also launch full-scale operations.
The company's chairman, Mr Muhoho Kenyatta, said Africa also needs to eradicate trade barriers, which, he said, harmed African economies.
Read article
Source: Daily Nation
FONTERRA CITES NEED FOR EU DAIRY PULLBACK, AS IT CUTS MILK PRICE HOPES
Fonterra became the second New Zealand dairy group this week to blame the European Union for continued weakness in values as it cut its forecast for its milk prices to a seven-year low.
The Auckland-based group, the world's top milk exporter, cut its estimate for its 2015-16 payout to its producers to NZ$4.15 per kilogramme of milk solids, from a previous estimate of NZ$4.60 per kilogramme of milk solids.
 Read full story   
Source: Agrimoney


Global Dairy Farmers
Manager 


Global network for leading dairy farmers and industry