My name is Henning Pülsch, I am 28 years old and together with my father I run a dairy farm with 110 cows and 80 hectares of land in beautiful Geestland
Good question, I'll have to ask Dad exactly. We supplied the predecessors of Nordmilch, then Nordmilch, until the merger of DMK. You could say we always have.
We are currently in the process of slowly completing the generational change with all its advantages and disadvantages. We are also setting the course for the future, getting animal health monitoring and modernizing barn by barn to become even more efficient, but also to make our work easier. Animal welfare also plays a role here - we want our animals to be as well off as possible. My father and I work on this every day.
DMK follows a plan and so far it is being implemented very well. This shows me that the dairy is on the right track and that I can trust it. This gives me the security of being with the right dairy.
Personally, I like the fact that the dairy does not have monthly price fluctuations like other dairies. This makes it easier to plan. In addition, the information a month in advance about what price you will get is an advantage.
Since last year, milking has been fun again. The milk is looking better than ever. What I find more difficult is the short-term as well as the long-term future. On the one hand, the milk price is slowly coming down again due to the lack of sales. You don't know how far it will go down and whether it will become threatening again. On the other hand, it is becoming more and more difficult to plan for the long term, because politicians do not commit themselves to a course of action, but rather overturn everything year after year. This is particularly challenging because you actually plan in years. But so far we have mastered every challenge.
It is always good to have a strong partner at your side. Through good networking, DMK manages to continue selling the products. This is also shown by the fact that when things get stormy, the dairy does not immediately bend in the storm, but remains true to its path.
On the one hand, it's a pointer for us as to what course the milk price is likely to take. In addition, it is a useful tool for us to hedge milk prices in certain quantities in order to have better planning for the coming months. You can see that DMK is trying to make delivery as convenient as possible for the farmer.
We are in the fortunate position of not needing outside labor. Because finding capable employees is becoming increasingly difficult. That's why it's important to make the workplace as attractive as possible. Modernization is an important point here - the more modern and advanced a farm is, the easier it will be for it to find employees. Because nowadays the technological progress of a farm is one of the most important criteria for employees. Nobody wants to spend eight hours pushing wheelbarrows and mucking out by hand anymore.
I would like to see politicians come up with a firm plan for what animal husbandry should look like in the future. I would also like to see more recognition for my profession - that would be nice.