Federal Association of German Dairy Farmers

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The Bundesverband Deutscher Milchviehhalter e. V. ( BDM ) is an association of active dairy farmers, founded on January 1st, 1998. In 2014 the BDM represented around 20,000 members, the current status is no longer known. Romuald Schaber was the chairman from 1998 to 2018 . From spring 2018, the federal chairmanship will be held by Stefan Mann. The most important goal of the association is the implementation of a cost-covering milk price and the expansion of the EU safety net for the milk market to include quantity-limiting measures in the event of a crisis.

Federal Association of German Dairy Farmers
(BDM)
BDM logo
Chair: Romuald Schaber
Establishment date: January 1, 1998
Number of members: unknown
Seat : Berlin
Website: http://www.bdm-verband.de/

Development into an all-German association since 2003

In 2003, a sister organization was founded in northern Germany (the initiative came from several large companies in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania). In 2005 the two associations merged and in the period that followed, due to the difficult situation of the dairy farmers, their membership increased rapidly. In 2008 the BDM represented around 34,000 of the roughly 100,000 German dairy farmers.

2008 milk strike

In order to build up negotiating pressure with dairies so that they increase the milk price to a cost-covering 43 cents per kg and keep it at this level, the BDM originally planned a nationwide milk delivery stop for October 2007. This milk delivery stop was not implemented because the milk price temporarily exceeded 40 cents in autumn 2007 per kg reached. According to the BDM itself, this was mainly the success of the nationwide bundling of milk volumes, which was initiated by the BDM.

After a huge drop in dairy prices for dairy products was triggered in spring 2008 by the Alois Müller dairy, the BDM called on its members and all dairy farmers to boycott the dairies for an indefinite period beginning on May 26, 2008 to move to new delivery terms. On June 6, 2008, the milk boycott was lifted and the dairies are being supplied with milk again. The price cut announced before the milk strike was delayed by several months but was then implemented.

Criticism and judgment by the Federal Court of Justice

The call for a milk delivery stop by the BDM violated the boycott prohibition of Section 21 (1) GWB following a ruling by the Federal Court of Justice on September 9, 2008 . The BGH argued that the BDM, as an association of entrepreneurs, had called on other entrepreneurs (dairy farmers) to block deliveries to the dairies. The necessary intention of the unreasonable hindrance was therefore that the association, with the help of the boycott, had massively intervened in the competitive freedom of action of the dairies in order to enforce prices that the market would not allow. The law against restraints of competition aims to maintain free competition, so prices that do not cover costs are also protected.

The then president of the farmers' association, Gerd Sonnleitner, also criticized the delivery boycott in 2008 and other protests by the BDM against the drop in milk prices.

BDM information booth (2008)

Goals and projects

The main objective of the BDM is a milk producer price that covers the full costs of the dairy farmers. According to the BDM, this price should be at least 50 cents. The association continues to advocate flexible quantity control in the hands of the milk producers in consultation with the dairy industry.

As a further project to achieve a better milk price for the farmers, the BDM started with Milchvermarktungsgesellschaft Süd mbH (MVS) Die faire Milch . Since the end of 2012, fair milk has only been offered by a few dealers and farm shops, and there were legal disputes between the BDM and the MVS because the price of 40 cents was not reached. These ended in 2017. Since then, marketing has been handled by a separate company.

The association criticized the exit from the European milk quota system on April 1, 2015. The association warns of a renewed slump in milk producer prices and, together with the European umbrella organization, the European Milk Board, calls for the introduction of a European crisis instrument that should come into play in the event of a renewed milk crisis .

Board members of the Federal Association of German Dairy Farmers (BDM)

Journalist Award "Fair Milk"

Since the 79th International Green Week in Berlin in 2014, the Federal Association of German Dairy Farmers has been awarding the “Fair Milk” journalists' prize at the annual symposium. The prize is awarded in four categories, the total endowment is 5,000 euros.

Prize winner 2013

  • Category of young journalists: “Social Milk” by Dagmar Guth, published in dlz next 09/2013
  • Electronic media category: “Existence-threatening: How dairies are depressing the milk price” by Alexa Höber-Kunft and Ingo Thöne, broadcast on Panorama 3 , NDR television , on September 18, 2013
  • Category print media: “What does milk do? The white gold of the Bergisches Land ”by Elke Landschoof and Karin Grunewald, 7 articles, published in the Bergisches Journal of the Kölner Stadtanzeiger
  • Special prize: “Woman power on the organic farm” by Markus Krczal, 7 episodes, broadcast in local time in South Westphalia, WDR television

2014 award winners

  • Electronic media category: “The milk rebels - courage against power” by Karin de Miguel Wessendorf and Valentin Thurn, broadcast on WDR television on November 3, 2014
  • Category print media: “It's the man who makes it” by Jonathan Stock and Takis Würger, published in the magazine Der Spiegel 08/2014

Award winner 2015

  • Category of young journalists: “Möllers Milch” by Holger Fröhlich, published in brand eins magazine
  • Electronic media category: “The fight for low prices” by Mirko Tomic, broadcast on Saarländischer Rundfunk
  • Print media category: 1st place: “Work in the stable until the bitter end” by Helmut Burlager and Klaus Schreiber, published in Jeversches Wochenblatt ; 2nd place: “The dream of the world market” by Nils Klawitter, published in Der Spiegel magazine ; 2nd place: "And bye ..." by Anna Sprockhoff, published in the regional newspaper for the Lüneburger Heide
  • Special prize: “Könnes fights: The milk price lie” by Sven Ihden, broadcast on WDR television

Web links

 Wikinews: Dairy farmers strike for higher prices  - news

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Alfons Deter: BDM fears supply bottlenecks in milk. In: top agrar . January 15, 2014, accessed August 23, 2019 .
  2. ↑ The milk price is falling and falling - and the farmers are at odds. In: Augsburger Allgemeine . January 18, 2009, accessed August 23, 2019 .
  3. ↑ Price demand of 40 cents. In: agrarheute.de. January 30, 2007, archived from the original on July 21, 2012 ; accessed on August 23, 2019 .
  4. ↑ Müller-Milch boycotts protest farmers. In: Augsburger Allgemeine. April 4, 2008, archived from the original on April 8, 2008 ; accessed on August 23, 2019 .
  5. ↑ BDM press release, April 17, 2008;
  6. ↑ Düsseldorf Higher Regional Court, decision of 09.09.2009 - VI-Kart 13/08 (V) - LRE 59, 259. Confirmed by the BGH, decision of 08.06.2010 - KVZ 46/09 - GRUR-RR 2010, 407.
  7. ↑ StRspr, cf. BGH WuW / E 2191, 2193 - Holstein breeders.
  8. ↑ Dairy farmers end their protest: “It's about bare existence”. In: taz.de . May 17, 2009, accessed August 23, 2019 . Jost Maurin: Farmer President Sonnleitner on dairy farmers: "I talk to everyone". In: taz.de. January 16, 2009, accessed August 23, 2019 .
  9. ↑ BDM guidelines 2015 (pdf, 1.3 MB) June 25, 2014, p. 6 , accessed on August 23, 2019 .
  10. ↑ BDM concept paper milk market crisis management. (pdf, 449 kB) In: bdm-verband.org. February 20, 2015, accessed August 23, 2019 .
  11. ↑ Journalist Award “Fair Milk” 2013. In: Website of the Bundesverband Deutscher Milchviehhalter eV January 19, 2014, accessed on August 23, 2019 . Winner: Fair Milk. In: journalistenpreise.de. Retrieved August 23, 2019 .
  12. ↑ Fair milk. In: journalistenpreise.de. Retrieved August 23, 2019 .