Calves "1000 yen?"
Jan 18 18:23
"The calves are traded at unbelievably low prices, and there are some that have no buyers. Many dairy farmers are thinking of closing their businesses.
" bottom.
What does it mean that calf prices are falling?
What I could see through the interviews was the harsh reality facing dairy farming sites in Hokkaido.
140,000 yen last year...
The first place I visited was Yakumo Town in southern Hokkaido, where dairy farming is thriving.
When I interviewed JA in the area, they introduced me to a dairy farm in the town saying, "I want many people to know about this difficult situation."
Mr. Nobuo Katayama kindly accepted the interview.
He raises about 90 cows and produces raw milk.
Although it is not well known, dairy farmers also produce "calves raised as beef cattle".
"Female" calves born by crossbreeding Holstein cows are raised as dairy cows, but "male" calves and "crossbreeds" born by crossbreeding dairy and meat cows The calves are sold to livestock farmers and raised for meat.
These calves are an important source of income for dairy farmers.
However, the price has come down significantly.
Mr. Katayama:
“In June of last year, they were selling for 130,000 yen or 140,000 yen each, but on September 5th last year, they were selling for 5,000 yen.”
One cow is only 5000 yen.
It's an unbelievably low price.
How are transactions conducted in the market?
I visited the Tokachi Central Livestock Market, which has the largest number of calf transactions in Hokkaido.
Why did calf prices drop so much?
Livestock farmers who raise calves as beef cattle come to the livestock market to purchase them.
Until then, it was traded for about 100,000 yen per animal, but on this day in October last year when I visited for coverage, it was about 10,000 yen per animal.
It was down to 1 in 10.
There were a number of cases where transactions were not completed even at the minimum transaction price of 500 yen.
Why?
I asked the livestock farmer on the purchasing side.
Livestock farmer
: “The price of beef will not change. If the cost of cattle production continues to rise, then livestock farmers will not be able to make a profit.
We rely on imports for most of our cattle feed.
However, due to the influence of Russia's military invasion of Ukraine, the transaction price has risen significantly.
Even the livestock farmers I spoke to said their monthly burden had increased by several hundred thousand yen.
While the price of feed for raising calves is soaring, it is impossible to buy calves at a high price in a situation where the price of beef does not change significantly.
1 calf is 1000 yen Some cows are not bought...
Despite this, new calves are being born at the farm of Nobuo Katayama, a dairy farmer in Yakumo Town.
Last October, the person in charge of the livestock company visited Mr. Katayama's ranch to buy the calves.
He checked the condition of the calves in detail, and the person in charge offered 1,000 yen.
This price is for calves raised with care.
Mr. Katayama couldn't hide his disappointment either.
It cost about 30,000 yen to raise a calf so far.
However, if there is a price, I decided to take it for 1000 yen after all.
At Mr. Katayama's ranch, there are cases where even calves that would have been purchased in the past are not.
Last September, I had to make a heavy decision to kill five of them.
The situation is too painful to overcome on your own.
Mr. Katayama:
“I have a feeling that I can do something on my own, but I am already approaching my limit. increase"
According to the Agriculture and Livestock Industries Promotion Organization, which compiles the trading prices of beef calves, although there are variations depending on the region, the trading price of calves is still sluggish and the difficult situation continues.
Soaring feed costs hit management directly
The price of calves plummeted, and the price of imported feed soared.
As the environment surrounding dairy farmers in Hokkaido is becoming more severe, we are being forced to take measures on site.
I am Yukio Ogura, the owner of a dairy farm in the Tokachi region.
President Ogura runs Gigafarm, one of the largest farms in Japan, in Kamishihoro, Hokkaido, where about 3,900 dairy cows are raised.
Soaring feed costs hit management directly.
Annual feed costs have reached 3 billion yen, accounting for 80% of management costs.
In pursuit of scale expansion
Dairy farmers in Hokkaido have a background that has been required to expand their scale.
When butter shortages became a problem in 2014, the national government promoted projects to strengthen livestock-related industries throughout the region.
In 2019, President Ogura also invested approximately 4 billion yen to build a state-of-the-art robot barn.
We also increased the number of cows by another 1000.
However, in recent years, the demand for raw milk has been sluggish due to the spread of the new coronavirus.
Almost all of the 400 million yen monthly sales of raw milk disappeared due to the soaring cost of feed.
Survival "put out"
Last October, President Ogura made a difficult decision to survive.
On this day, President Ogura was negotiating at an online meeting.
Raw milk is generally collected through a designated organization (Hokuren in Hokkaido) under a unified collection system.
However, in order to sell raw milk at a higher price, President Ogura started selling it through a wholesale company in Gunma Prefecture last April.
He wondered if he could expand this trading volume even further.
Shipping to a non-designated organization is called “outsider” and is considered an act outside the framework of the industry.
However, President Ogura felt that if he did not expand the sales channel himself, the management after this year would be seriously threatened.
President Ogura
: "We really can't survive like this, really. People say we're good people and that we're cunning, but I think it can't be helped. We can't raise the white flag saying it's impossible anymore. It's a large-scale dairy farm. If a house collapses, it will have a big impact on the local economy.”
How to break out of a tough situation?
How should we respond to the critical situation facing agriculture in Hokkaido?
Professor Masayuki Tani of Obihiro University of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine pointed out as follows.
Professor Tani, Obihiro University of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine
: “Currently, we are in a difficult situation, but we should use this as an opportunity to seriously work on getting rid of the external dependence (such as food) that has been neglected for a long time.Using Hokkaido’s resources as effectively as possible We need to think comprehensively about livestock, agriculture, energy, etc., instead of thinking about agriculture alone, so that we can make use of it.”
In Hokkaido, there is a growing movement to domestically produce corn for animal feed, which has so far been mostly reliant on imports.
The number of farmers has increased year by year, and now there are more than 100.
Even so, most feed corn is still imported, and less than 1% of it is produced domestically.
Is it possible to change this state of affairs?
Hokkaido, which can be called "Japan's food supply base," is now at a major crossroads.
Director of Sapporo Broadcasting Station Taitoshi
Hattori
Joined in
2001
After working at the Asahikawa station and the news station, he currently belongs.
Sapporo Broadcasting Station Director
Rie Bunmuro Joined the station in
2019
Worked at the Sapporo station from 2022 after working at an international broadcasting station Covering
multicultural societies and regional topics
Hakodate Broadcasting Station Reporter Rihito
Nishida Joined the station in
2017
After working at the Nagasaki station, worked at the Hakodate station in his hometown of Hokkaido Covering
fields such as agriculture and food
Obihiro Broadcasting Station Reporter
Naoki Yonezawa
Joined in 2014
After working at Sapporo and Yokohama stations, Obihiro Station from 2021
mainly covers agriculture and nature
Sapporo Broadcasting Station Reporter
Shingo Hatano Joined the station
in 2009
After working at the Nagano station, the Fukuoka station, and the news production department, started working at the Sapporo station in his hometown in 2022 Covering
economic fields such as primary industries and transportation in Hokkaido