“Our economic situation naturally depends on our cooperative, DMK. I see it very soberly, the price has to be right. And that was not the case for us, especially during the recent milk crisis. In the last few years we have given notice to leave DMK and we have left. There were several reasons for this. At this time of generational change, we are reviewing many aspects of our business, including our relationship with DMK. For a long time it was clear to us that DMK was in need of considerable reform.

But I can see that DMK has seen the writing on the wall - and that is why we have withdrawn our resignation. The introduction of QM++ had been under discussion for several years. This is an additional module that ensures that dairy cows are kept outdoors. It is part of Farming Type 3. I was surprised to see it being rolled out so widely. In my opinion, the value-added programmes at DMK are attractive - they finally give us the opportunity to be reimbursed for our extra costs. Reimbursement for non-GMO feed is also a positive step, of course. I think DMK is on the right track with its 2030 vision, but there is no getting around it. Changes have to be made to remain competitive. For me personally, it is important to remain realistic in my expectations and not to rely on milk prices that are constantly very high. There will always be fluctuations, but I look at how DMK deals with them.”