Milch animals are slaughtered, the cost of the farmer is increasing every year… Cultivated areas are decreasing, producers are bleeding… Agriculture and livestock are blazingly running out of steam…
The crisis that has been going on in the economy for a long time in Turkey has caused serious problems in the agriculture and livestock sectors as well as in every sector. Due to the wrong policies applied in agriculture and animal husbandry, there were supply problems in meat, milk and many agricultural products in Turkey at various times. However, due to the volatility in the exchange rate and increasing costs in the last period, the costs of farmers and livestock have almost doubled. Answering the questions of the Milli Gazete on the problems experienced in agriculture and animal husbandry, farmer Mahmut Gencer stated that the problems experienced today will be experienced more intensely next year.
Mahmut, let's get to know you first and get information about your milk production facility.
I am originally a civil engineer. In 2017, I decided to switch to the agriculture and livestock sector. Since 2018, I have started to operate a milk production facility. We currently have 100 animals in our facility and we produce approximately 2 tons of milk per day. We also have 25 calves, normally it should be more, but the costs are too high. Apart from these, we have an office and workers in our facility. However, things have been going badly in our business for 3 years.
IN 3 YEARS, THE PRICE INCREASE HAS BEEN DOUBLED IN CLOVER
You have been running a dairy production facility for 3 years. Actually, it's a short time, but how have your costs been from the year you started to work? Can you evaluate the cost increases over the products you use in your milk production facility?
When we first started the business, we were buying a ton of clover for 650-700 Turkish Liras (TL). We bought a ton of clover for 1,500 TL in Aksaray, the center of clover, where the price of clover is the cheapest at the moment. In 3 years, there has been a double price increase in clover. Again, we were buying the ton of corn silage, which is an indispensable part of animal husbandry, for 210 TL in 2018. However, today, we buy a ton of corn silage for 450 TL. Corn silage has also risen almost 3 times in 3 years. Forage prices were also 78 TL per bag. Now, as of yesterday, it has risen to the band of 210-220 TL. These prices are the official figures published by the National Dairy Council (Ulusal Süt Konseyi). Many of our costs, such as forage, clover and corn silage, have doubled, tripled or even quadrupled. Apart from all these, electricity has increased by 100 percent, fuel prices have increased, and labor costs have increased.
“THE WORK DOESN'T END WITH INCREASING MILK PRICES”
So, how has your earnings been affected by such increased costs?
We experienced a serious cost increase after 2018, but on the other hand, the raw milk price was 2,30 TL in November 2019. Exactly one year later, the price of raw milk was still 2,30 TL despite the increasing costs, no increase was made. In January 2021, 2,80 TL was made, but there were serious costs brought by the pandemic, although the increase was small, it did not mean anything. As a result of all our efforts, raw milk prices in July 2021 became 3,20 TL. Now milk prices rose to 4,70 TL. However, a situation like "We have increased the milk prices, we protect the farmers and the producers" emerges. Unfortunately this is not the case. It's not enough to raise milk prices.
Aren't the hikes in milk prices sufficient against cost increases or do you want to talk about another issue?
What the manufacturer really wants is not a raise for the product it produces. We expect stability in prices. If our costs continue steadily, there is no need to raise milk prices. There is a forage-milk parity determined by the state. Accordingly, 1.3 kilograms of forage should be bought for the price of 1 liter of milk. However, this parity only becomes true, the day the milk prices are announced. Afterwards, the forage prices are increased one after the other. If this parity can be achieved all year, then the producer earns money and improves his-her business. Most importantly, there is no need to raise milk prices. If you cannot prevent cost increases, even if you increase milk prices, it doesn't make any sense. As a result, milk producers do not want a raise, they want stability.
“I HAVE A LIEN ON MY OWN VEHICLE AND MY TRACTOR”
According to what you said, your production costs are increasing every year compared to your profit. What precautions do you take when this is the case? Or can you take precaution?
For now, professional milk production facilities make a profit slightly above the daily expenditure of an animal. In other words, if we spend 50 TL per day for an animal, we can get 70 TL of milk from that animal. However, the family-run dairy production facilities throughout the country are producing completely at a loss. Eighty percent of the milk production in our country is made by these families. The damage to these families is great because they produce the clover, pulp and hay that they feed to the animals on their own lands. They would have made more profit if they sold the products they produced instead of feeding them to their animals. While this is the case, family businesses in Anatolia, which sell their products at a loss, gradually begin to sell their milk-producing animals to butchers. In other words, animals that give milk in Turkey began to be slaughtered.
The dangers of what you are talking about are very high because the animal that gives milk also provides animal production in Turkey. Finally, I would like to ask you the situation of our country in the livestock sector with this danger?
Almost all of the livestock producers in Turkey now want to pay off their debts and get rid of them. Today, the property directorate in my area puts a block on the accounts of every farm owner whose debt exceeds a certain level. Let me give an example from myself; I can't pay my tax debt right now because my costs are too high. We cannot earn money, but when the state has money owed, it immediately takes action to collect it. Currently, many farmers and livestock producers in Turkey have liens on their tractors, machinery equipment and cars. There is a lien on my own vehicle and tractor. If this continues, Turkey's production of agricultural products will almost come to an end. Imports of agricultural products are even more it will be. Finally, I want to say: Now is the time to take serious measures for agriculture and animal husbandry. The agriculture and livestock sector must be brought out of the bad situation it has fallen into as soon as possible.