Ride your bike past a farm to pick up a bottle of raw milk. More and more people are doing that. But whether that will still be the case next year remains to be seen. Farmers are struggling with stricter rules. Some stop their tap, others raise the price.
Yvonne Oosterhuis in Wittelte has a shed on the edge of her yard from which she sells all kinds of things. There was also a refrigerator with a tank full of raw milk. Customers could tap their own bottle of milk there and take it home. But Yvonne has sold her tap. She still sells milk, but directly from the large tank and to order.
“People now have to call me and place their orders. Then I fill the bottles from the tank next to the stable and put them in the refrigerator,” says Oosterhuis with a heavy heart. “I didn’t have the tap for profit or anything, but to talk to people. To tell them something about my farm. Because I like to show people where the milk comes from. But it can’t be like that. more out.”
From January 1, farmers must have their milk in the tap checked monthly for viruses and bacteria. The costs? 150 euros. And these are borne by the farmer. “I sell about 15 liters a day, so if I pass that on, it is no longer affordable.” She is also disappointed by the ever-changing regulations. “Every time you get things done, something changes. I’m afraid that we will soon have to have the milk checked every three weeks or perhaps every two weeks.”
Her children eventually take over the farm. Because they do not enjoy the tap point very much, Oosterhuis has decided to immediately sell its tap point and only supply milk on request. “With a heavy heart, yes.”
On the other side of the province in Paterswolde, the Veenhuis family made a different choice and the milk tap is still in use. A lot of raw milk is served in the shop on their property. “People drink less milk in winter, but in summer we sell up to three hundred liters per week,” says farmer Grietina Veenhuis. She also struggles with the new rules. “Checks are fine, but every month is excessive. And our milk is also checked in the stable. If it’s not good, the factory doesn’t want it either.”
She has made the choice to keep her tap, but has to raise the prices. “I think the milk will become about thirty cents more expensive. Now you can buy a liter here for one euro. Yes, that will be 1.30,” she calculates. She doesn’t know whether the customers will still keep coming. “But we have no choice.”