Milk Day in Wangen: Experience the Allgäu with all your senses!

Milk Day in Wangen: Experience the Allgäu with all your senses!

The annual Milk Day will take place on Sunday, June 1st from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., which this year will be held on the grounds of the State Garden Show in Wangen. This event is organized jointly by the Allgäu-Oberschwaben farmers' association and the Württembergisches Allgäu rural women. The focus of the event is on the importance of milk for agriculture and the cultural landscape in the Allgäu. Visitors can look forward to various attractions, including tasting local dairy products and special programs for children, such as milking. Guided tours of the livestock pasture ecosystem are also offered, starting at 12:00 p.m. and 2:00 p.m. The meeting point is ALMA am Turm, where participants can learn more about the effects of cows on the climate and their role in the Allgäu.

The Allgäu region is known for its rich milk production and its diversity. Our farmers emphasizes that the Allgäu Emmentaler is considered the most important cheese in the region. This cheese has a protected designation of origin (PDO) under EU law, which means that it can only be produced in the Allgäu region. Strict criteria in the areas of feeding, milk production, milk processing and storage ensure the high quality of the cheese. As a rule, production takes place in small businesses, either on the Sennalpen or in a few valley dairies, where short distances and traditional production methods promote quality and are environmentally friendly.

Milk market and its challenges

Milk production is one of the most important production sectors in German agriculture. According to Bmel The German dairy industry is the largest sector within the food industry, and in 2020 around 57,000 companies with 3.9 million animals produced a total of 33.1 million tons of milk. This figure shows the enormous economic importance of the sector, which contributes to German agriculture with a production value of around 10.8 billion euros.

However, the milk market faces challenges. A continuous decline in the number of dairy farms and an increase in the number of dairy cows per owner characterize the structure of the industry. Policy frameworks, including reforms to the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) since 2003, have also contributed to change. Milk price crises in 2009, 2012 and 2015/16 have shown how volatile the market is and how much milk paid prices can fluctuate. During the lowest point of the milk crisis in 2015/16, the price fell to 22.8 cents/kg, while at the end of 2017 it reached 38.98 cents/kg. In 2020 the payout price was 32.84 cents/kg.

Overall, it is clear that the German dairy industry is not only affected by internal challenges, but is also reacting to the international market, where around half of the milk processed in Germany is exported. Germany remains the largest milk producer within the EU, followed by France.