In the Vosges, the dismay of dairy producers faced with the withdrawal of Lactalis

“They don’t care about us”: in the Brandazzi family, dairy producers for four generations in unbalanced, which has continued to deteriorate.

In this beautiful farm located in the hollow of the hills, Aymeric, 28 years old, and his father Fabrice, 57 years old, have 90 dairy cows, mainly Montbéliardes but also some Brunes des Alpes and Prim’holsteins, for a production of 550,000 liters of milk per year, organic.

A life punctuated by the noise of the two milking robots and the passage of the Lactalis truck, which comes to collect the daily production, according to a precise ritual, even timed.

“The milkman doesn’t have time when he comes to pump, we shouldn’t talk for five minutes too long,” says Aymeric in his overalls, cap over his ears. “He has his tour to do by following his GPS, everything is fully optimized.”

“Before there was a salesperson who came by every two months. He came to see if things were going, what we hoped to do in the next months, all that,” adds his father, who has been there since 1990. “Now they don’t care.” from us What they would like is one big farm per department, and that it costs them nothing.

– Stopping investments –

Here milk is sold for 515 euros per tonne. “To get through this properly, 100 euros are missing,” estimates Fabrice Brandazzi. “This price only allows operating costs to be paid.”

So, to earn an income, he and his son try to meet ever more demanding specifications in order to obtain “bonuses”.

“But we don’t want these bonuses. We want it to be paid for what it’s worth,” he complains. “But we can’t say anything, we endure the relationship.”

So the additional turn of the screw by Lactalis, which announced on Wednesday to reduce collection volumes in France in a context of “volatility of international markets”, surprised producers… but “not that much”.

“It’s been complicated with this large group for a couple of years already,” recognizes Aymeric Brandazzi, Young Farmers representative in the canton. “But for those who are going to be left behind, it’s going to become very difficult.”

According to the Association of Milk Producers Lactalis du Grand Est (Apllage), the volumes sold to the manufacturer will decrease by 8%, leaving 151 farmers in the region without outlets. Uncertainty looms, those affected must be notified one by one in the coming days.

“If it comes to fruition for us, I don’t know if we will continue to make milk,” continues the young producer, expressing his “apprehension”. “We don’t just go back to another dairy somewhere else.”

As an immediate consequence of Lactalis’ announcement, the family stopped its investments in the construction of a new hangar and silos, despite 1,400 euros spent on initial studies.

– “Rediscover your pride” –

In Xertigny, the concern is all the greater as the former local Lactalis factory, which became a simple collection center in 2012 “while it was doing well”, according to the producers, will definitely close its doors in 2026.

About ten kilometers away, in La Chapelle-aux-Bois, it was precisely to get out of this dependence that around ten breeders founded the company “La Vôge Laitière” a few months ago, thus allowing them to , since the beginning of September, to sell their production without an intermediary.

“Before, Lactalis imposed a price and a volume on us. Now, with our client, we discuss it every quarter. It feels good to find a little pride again, rather than depending on a huge manufacturer,” rejoices Vincent Chassard, producer and general manager of the company.

He has regained negotiating power, and his milk is now sold 30% more expensive. “That doesn’t mean I’m going to change cars,” he warns. “But now I have what I need to live.”

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