When is pasture milk really in pasture milk?

Pasture milk: a question of attitude
Grazing cows are widely used on milk packaging. But the reality is often different. The dairy cattle shifts more and more from the pasture into the stable. In larger farms, on average, only every third cow grabs the pasture. On the other hand, grazing cows are popular as a marketing tool because it reflects consumer expectations. For instance, according to a study by the University of Göttingen, cows belong to pasture, at least in summer, for around 80 percent of consumers.

No wonder, then, that a growing number of dairies are trying to market their milk accordingly. And that with success. In Austria, for example, hay milk already achieves a market share of 15 percent. The market share for pasture milk in Denmark is around 20%. In the Netherlands, nearly 80 percent of cows are grazing.

When is a pasture milk a milk of cows in the pasture? (Image: dietwalther / fotolia.com)

But what exactly is behind these terms? And how can these differences be explained? Hay milk differs from conventional milk in feeding, and in pasture milk, this applies to keeping. Hay milk comes from cows that were not fed with silage, but with fresh grassland feed, hay and grain. For example, while in Austria there is a so-called "hay milk regulation", which is controlled by independent bodies, in Germany the term "hay milk" is just as little regulated in terms of food law as the term "pasture milk"..
How much time a cow has to spend in the pasture before it can be talked of grazing, is therefore quite contentious and has already occupied the courts in Germany. The result is that milk from cows that have been on pasture for at least six hours at least 120 days per year may be marketed as pasture milk, provided these criteria are also stated on the package.

While many providers are guided by this minimum requirement, the other criteria are often regulated quite differently. For example, the question of whether animal husbandry in winter also specifies how the animals are fed off the pasture, whether it is also possible to make use of genetically modified feed and who checks whether these rules are actually complied with.

More transparency for consumers can create clearly defined product labels here. A pioneer in Germany in this respect is the seal of quality "Pro pasture land - German pasture charter", launched in 2017, with which the state of Lower Saxony wants to encourage grazing and reward dairy farmers for their contribution to animal welfare and the preservation of grassland. It is based on a broad coalition of agriculture, environmental and animal welfare organizations, science and politics and complements the above-mentioned standard of 120 days with six hours of pasture run by the following criteria:

- 2000 square meters of permanent grassland (of which at least 1000 square meters of pasture area) must be available per cow.
- The year round freedom of movement of the animals must be guaranteed.
- The cows may only receive non-GM feed.
- Compliance with these criteria is regularly reviewed by dairies and external auditors. - The participating dairies must commit to separately collecting and processing the milk.

Certified pasture milk has been available from the discount store Lidl since the end of April 2017, and has also been available in REWE stores since mid-August. Linked to the Pro Pasture Label, the goal is to produce farms that produce pasture milk to pay a premium of five cents per liter of milk in the future. The fact that consumers are in principle willing to pay extra for pasture milk is shown by the positive experience from Denmark and the Netherlands.

In the Netherlands, a pasture milk label was introduced in 2007. Since 2016, the Dutch pasture milk label has also been awarded to foreign pasture milk products. German consumers can therefore find both labels in the cooling rack. The Dutch pasture milk label also provides for at least six hours of pasture runtime for at least 120 days per year, but does not set targets for freedom of movement or GMO-free feeding, for example. Whether the more demanding new "Pro Pasture Land" label will prevail and establish itself as the new standard for pasture milk will also depend on which products or label the major supermarket chains include in their assortment. BZL / BZfE