"Get a little more milk and dairy products!" A sad cry from Hokkaido May 10 11:31

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A video released by Governor Naomi Suzuki of Hokkaido on Twitter. Sip a glass with one hand, and say a word, "Good!" I'm drinking milk. We called it the "Milk Challenge" and called for it to be published on SNS. The aim is to increase consumption even a little. Against this background, there was a challenge facing dairy farms in Hokkaido. (Sapporo Broadcasting Reporter Norihiro Kobayashi)

The impact of the new coronavirus ...

The challenge is the steep decline in milk and dairy consumption across the country. There are two major reasons. Both are associated with the new coronavirus.

One is "temporary closing of elementary and junior high school". With the suspension of school, milk consumption for lunch has disappeared nationwide.

The second is "going out of self-control." The sharp decline in eating out demand has reduced demand for commercial milk and dairy products. In addition, Hokkaido's souvenirs and sweets are abundantly filled with fresh cream, and the demand for these products is declining due to the dramatic decrease in the number of foreign tourists.

Dairy farming is the most important sector in Hokkaido, accounting for 40% of all agricultural output. The "Milk Challenge" was a "poverty plan" in such a situation.

Production cannot be stopped suddenly!

One might think that if the demand is decreasing, then the production of raw milk should be reduced. However, the reality is that it is quite difficult. To find out why, I visited Mr. Hitoshi Kawaguchi, a dairy farmer in Ebetsu City.

Kawaguchiya's farm raises 1000 cows. Milk each cow three times daily. Mr. Kawaguchiya explained that cows can get sick if they don't milk and can't be stopped.

Kawaguchitani:
"These animals are not animals, but living animals, so this adjustment is very difficult. My boobs accumulate and I end up with a disease called" mastitis. " As a dairy farmer, we absolutely cannot do that, because we will lose our lives. "

Moreover, from May to June, it is said that the climate of Hokkaido beef is comfortable and the production of raw milk is the easiest to increase in a year.

Mr. Kawaguchitani:
"It will be time for cows to actively produce milk as it gets hotter. Inevitably this time will increase," he said. "As it gets hotter, it will be time for cows to actively produce milk. Inevitably this time will increase."

There are limits to the processing of dairy products

It seems that some people are saying, "I just had a shortage of butter during this time, so I should process it into dairy products that are easy to preserve." But that also has its limits.

We have been working on long-lasting products such as cheese, butter and skim milk powder instead of milk and fresh cream, which do not last long.

Looking at the amount sold by the producer group Hokuren to dairy manufacturers in March, the amount for milk decreased by about 12% and the amount for fresh cream decreased by about 5%, while the amount of skimmed milk powder and butter increased by more than 15%. Did.

What happened as a result was an overstock of skim milk powder. If this pace continues, there is concern that dairy manufacturers will not be able to make any more.

There are even pessimistic comments from dairy farmers, "In the worst case, the possibility of discarding raw milk cannot be denied."

Both the country and the producer's group run for countermeasures

Not only Governor Suzuki of Hokkaido, but also Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Mr. Eto, made an unusual call for this situation.

Agriculture Minister Eto
"If you buy more milk and yogurt than usual when shopping, we will protect the production of dairy farmers, so I would like to ask for your cooperation."

In addition, we have begun a bitter measure of giving a subsidy to feed skim milk powder to livestock feed.

In addition, producer groups such as Hokuren have also introduced foods that use abundant milk on their website and Instagram to appeal for increased consumption.

Nationwide raw milk production was temporarily stagnant, causing a shortage of butter. After that, it recovered mainly in Hokkaido, and the production volume has been picking up here. The turmoil this time is causing confusion among dairy farmers.

As we are refraining from going out unnecessarily and urgently, we think that it will not only help health but also help dairy farmers, so let's take the opportunity to try taking a little more milk and dairy products than usual. How about that?

Sapporo station broadcasting station reporter
Norihiro Kobayashi
Joined in 2013
After working at Muroran station,
in charge of coverage of economic fields such as Sapporo station agriculture