Social and legal requirements regarding animal welfare have been increasing significantly for years and will continue to grow in importance in the future. With this decision taken by the Board of Directors of Deutsches Milchkontor eG, the DMK Group is reflecting society's great interest in consuming food that is produced with a focus on animal welfare. Now that the available range of drinking milk for German food retailers has been converted, further selected products from the white and yellow lines will follow. The company honours the farmers' commitment with a surcharge of 3 ct/kg raw milk (incl. VLOG surcharge). "Even if this entails challenges along the value chain, we are convinced that the opportunities for our members outweigh the risks. We are increasing the added value on our member farms and increasing the appreciation of the work they do. However, this additional effort must also be worthwhile for our members," says Dr Klaus A. Hein, Managing Director of Deutsches Milchkontor eG.
In addition to the German farmers, the members of the Dutch co-operative DOC Kaas U.A. are also participating in the conversion. The DMK Group enables them to obtain certification for the additional QM++ module from QM-Milch e.V., which requires cows to be kept under outdoor climate conditions and other measures conducive to animal welfare and is a prerequisite for farming system level 3 in Germany.
It is currently noticeable, particularly in the private label segment, that the volume of dairy products in housing form 3 is increasing significantly. The DMK Group is therefore in tune with the times with its decision to switch and is also positioning itself for the future in this relevant area. "It is particularly important to us to market the commitment that our members are making to this important topic in their favour. The implementation of the programme is of great importance for our farmers and the entire company. In addition, various trading partners are addressing this form of husbandry as a demand, so DMK is demonstrating both efficiency and market understanding with this step," emphasises Stefan Keller, Chief Operating Officer Private Label of the DMK Group.
