Lithuanian Farmers Sell Off Cows to Poland, Saying Dairy Farming Unsustainable
LITHUANIA - Low milk prices are pushing small and medium-sized farms to sell off their cows, mostly to Poland. Over the last year, one in eight milk farmers have closed the business. Some also struggle to source enough feed for the animals after a prolonged drought.
18 September 2019
1 minute read
“The cost [of one liter of milk] comes at 0.23 euro, and [the processors] buy it for 0.21,” says Giedrius Masikonis, a dairy farmer. He covers the difference by selling some of his animals to butchers.
Masikonis has sold a third of his cows to Poland, while another 50 cows will be sold off in the next couple of weeks after he decided to sell off the farm to avoid bankruptcy, because his revenue does not cover operating costs.
Another farm, owned by Martynas Butkevičius, has recently sold 100 cows to Poland.
“We calculated that the investments were made 10 years ago, the equipment is worn out, and there is a need to reconstruct the buildings,” says Butkevičius. New investment would not pay off.
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Source: Lithuanian National Radio and Television
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